The Silent Wings of Night
by Ellabee15
Summary: Believing Oliver to have died at the hands of Ra's al Ghul, the team is shocked to discover that he is the new heir to the demon. Defeating him will mean new tactics, new partnerships and new alliances. (features Evil! League Oliver)
1. Chapter 1

"Roy, I've got Nyssa being chased by a group of assassins down by 22nd and Ash." Felicity frowned at the screens in the team's new base at Palmer Tech.

"Did you say they were chasing her?" Roy asked. Felicity could hear the roar of his motorcycle as he made his way to the location she'd provided.

"They're headed South West." She said. "They're trying to kill her."

"I've driving there now." Digg patched in from the van. "Laurel and Thea are with me and ready to go."

"Okay." Felicity said. "I'm programming the stoplights in your favor. Ray, how do things look from your end?"

"Flying over them now." Ray said. "They haven't spotted me yet. It looks like the world's most violent RPG."

"Make sure they don't see you." Felicity said. "You're our Deus Ex Machina in case things go south."

"Hey; I got this." Ray said. Felicity switched the comms so she was only talking to Digg.

"The league already…" She broke off unable to finish her thought. "What could they possibly want from us?"

"We'll find out." Digg said

"Just got to the rooftop." Roy patched in. "I'm ready when you are."

"We're also in position." Laurel said.

"What took you so long?" Ray said.

"Remind me why we invited the new guy?" Roy groaned.

"I fly." Ray retorted. "Also wouldn't Thea technically be the new guy because she joined up after I did."

"This is a rescue mission, boys." Laurel said. "Solve this on the mats later."

Felicity rolled her eyes. They'd brought Ray into the team about 2 months after Merlyn had announced Oliver's death to them. Though Roy understood the necessity of including Ray, it didn't stop him from dropping sarcasm at inappropriate moments.

"Black Canary; you're up." Felicity said.

She shut off the comms as an ear splitting noise began. Laurel's new sonic device, courtesy of Cisco Ramon, packed twice the punch of Sara's. She watched as the assassins dropped their weapons and covered their ears. Nyssa's head snapped towards the source of the noise. For a heart breaking second, it looked like she was looking for Sara, then she saw Laurel. There was a nod of approval before she turned back to her attackers with a look of renewed determination.

"What are you doing in our city?" Roy asked. The team had positioned themselves with each member at one point of the building. Ray was using the cloud cover to hover above them unseen.

"This is no concern of yours." One of the assassins said. "This woman claims to be the heir to the demon, the title does not belong to her."

"What?" Laurel asked.

"I've scoured the globe tracking Sara's true killer." Nyssa hissed. "And in my absence my father has chosen this pretender to take my rightful place." She pointed her sword in the direction of the assassin standing at the back of the group. "The coward refuses to fight me himself and instead has his lackeys chase me down."

The man stayed silent. Holding up a hand, he had the rest of the assassins lower their weapons.

"Coward." Nyssa hissed. "Why do you not remove your hood? Perhaps you do not want your friends to see what you have become."

"Look." Digg said. "I don't know what-" He froze. The mystery demon's heir had just lowered his hood. His back was to the camera Felicity had hacked, but that didn't matter. She'd have known him anywhere. Digg's horrified expression was mirrored on Laurel and Roy's faces. Only Thea, who was standing behind the heir, didn't know. At least that was what Felicity thought until she heard the strangled gasp of "Ollie" that Speedy let out.

The man showed no sign of recognition. "This woman," he pointed at Nyssa, "has defied the wishes of Ra's al Ghul." He glared at her. "Kneel before the heir to the demon."

Digg recovered first. "Oliver, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"My name is Al Sah him." The man growled. "And if you attempt to protect this woman the League will view it as a hostile action and retaliate."

Felicity felt her heart shattering with every word. "Ray," she croaked. "Get them out of there."

Ray swooped down shooting. Caught off guard, the league members weren't able to react fast enough. Laurel grabbed Nyssa and dragged her to the van with Digg. Ray grabbed Thea and flew off. Roy jumped down to his bike.

"Evasive maneuvers, everyone." Felicity said. "Don't let them follow you." She shut off the comms. "Come back safe." She murmured. Looking around she felt a rush of relief they'd accepted Ray's offer to move the headquarters to Palmer Tech. Oliver didn't know and it would take him longer to find it. She shuddered. Hearing his voice after nearly a year of believing him dead; an hour ago she'd have given anything to hear him and see him again. Now she'd give anything to make it so she hadn't. Tears began sliding down her face. She was still crying 20 minutes later when the first of the team, Thea and Ray, came in.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: This AU assumes that a year has past since Oliver went to fight Ra's.**

 **I should also mention that the Oliver in this story is one who was broken by the League. He's not good and there will probably be no redemption. (Sorry, but that's the direction I'm starting with)**

 **Hope you find this interesting!**

* * *

"How can he be alive?" Felicity said. They were all in the Palmer tech headquarters, trying to process the night's revelations. Digg was shaken. Roy looked angry, Thea's expression was vacant. Nyssa was sitting on a med table while Laurel inspected her injuries. She was clearly trying to direct her attention anywhere besides the horror of their current situation.

"He was ready to attack us." Digg said. "I…who ever that was, it wasn't our Oliver."

"I cannot stay here." Nyssa said, attempting to get up. "My presence brings you harm." She looked at the floor. "I apologize, I came here because if Al Sah Him killed me, I wished to die in the city my beloved called home."

"Oliver…didn't know about Ray." Felicity said. "And he didn't know about…" she motioned to the room. "All this. You're safe here, for now."

"Until he figures it out; seeing as he is a super assassin and did used to own this building." Ray muttered. Digg glared and Ray cleared his throat. "Right, we're trying the reassuring tact." He fell silent. Everyone sat, lost in their own thoughts. The clock ticked.

"What do we do now?" Thea asked quietly.

"We focus on what we can do." Digg said. "We find a hiding place for Nyssa."

"We also need to put Sara and Lyla in ARGUS custody." Roy added. "He knows you helped her and he might use them as leverage."

Nyssa stood. "The heir to the demon does not hide." She said. Then she winced, clutching her stomach, and coughing.

"Yeah. You're definitely capable of entering a fight to the death right now." Laurel said, dryly.

Nyssa huffed in irritation, but followed Laurel's urging to sit back down.

Ray raised his hand. "I…may have a solution."

Digg arched an eyebrow. Ray put his hand down and coughed in embarrassment. "Sorry, I don't know proper team suggestion protocol. Felicity and I have the Wayne Foundation Gala in a few weeks."

"A fancy rich people party helps us…how?" Roy asked, crossing his arms.

"It's not the party so much as the location." Ray explained. "Wayne lives in Gotham which also happens to be where the Batman operates. We go to Gotham and use the gala as a cover to visit the city and try to find him."

"Even ARGUS hasn't found his identity." Digg pointed out.

"Well ARGUS doesn't have me or Felicity." Ray said. "We can figure it out."

Nyssa cleared her throat. "That will not be necessary; I know who the Batman is." She said. "He trained under the league for a while before leaving under…less than amicable terms. His true name is Bruce Wayne."

"Bruce?" Thea said, shocked. "Bruce is…"She paused. "Really?" She looked at the assembled group. "I've met him at functions before. He's…" She shook her head. "Tragic past, disappearing for years only to come back unscathed, corrupt city; I guess it makes sense."

Felicity covered her eyes. "Do you billionaires all have a secret desire to dress up in costumes and fight crime?"

Ray shrugged. "Some of us have cooler suits."

Digg stood. "I'll call Lyla to have her and Sara go underground. We're leaving for Gotham immediately. We should be able to get to Ferris air and –"

"Um, no need." Ray said. "My helicopter's on the roof, we can just fly to my jet." He paused. "Okay, even I found that obnoxious."

Roy smirked. "It's okay Palmer, you're learning."

* * *

Al Sah Him stood and watched as Team Arrow boarded Palmer's Jet. He knew the false heir had probably already been smuggled aboard.

"Where are they going?" He turned to Serab.

"Gotham." Serab responded. Al Sah Him cursed.

"I suppose Ra's will not allow us to pursue." He said.

"We have a bargain with Gotham's protector." Serab said. "No member of the league is permitted to enter the city."

"That agreement will dissolve once I ascend to Ra's." Al Sah Him growled. He watched as the blonde woman paused at the plane's entrance. She turned, as though she knew he was watching. Squinting at her darkened surroundings, she shivered and turned back to the plane, hurrying up the stairs.

"Why do we not just swoop in and kill them now?" Serab asked.

"Too many questions." Al Sah Him said, "Palmer has ensured that this flight is well documented. An attack would cause too much exposure. I need this done clean." He glared as the jet began taking off. He watched as the blonde woman's face appeared in one of the jet's windows. A feeling of desire stirred in him, a remnant of the man he used to be. Whatever love Oliver Queen had felt for this woman was irrelevant. He thought. However, he mused, she might make a nice prize for the heir to the demon.


	3. Chapter 3

Dick glared at the manor gate. It had been a while since he'd been in Gotham. If Bruce had called him here now, it wasn't good. He shook his head, punching in his code, he waited for the gate to open. He was probably just being paranoid. Maybe this was just a simple family visit and he'd have nothing to worry about. He snorted as he kicked his bike back into gear and drove into the property. Bruce may be a lot of things, but the cuddly family man wasn't one of them. Parking his motorcycle outside the manor, he made his way up the stairs.

"Master Richard." Alfred opened the door and ushered him inside. "It is good to see you." He gave a disapproving glance at Dick's windswept hair. "I see we're still recklessly neglecting the proper head gear." He said dryly.

"Yes, Alfred. I can honestly say that's the most dangerous thing I've done all week." Dick grinned.

"You were always such a terrible liar, Master Richard." Alfred bemoaned. "Master Bruce said to meet him in the living room."

"Which one?" Dick muttered. He made his way to the room Alfred had indicted.

"Oh and Master Richard." Alfred called after him. "Welcome home."

Dick turned to see the old butler give him a small smile before leaving. Dick pushed open the door.

"Well well well." A bored voice drawled. "The old geizer's happy to have his Master Dick back." Jason Todd was sprawled out on the couch with his boots on the table in front of him.

"You were more polite before you died." Dick muttered as he sat across from him. "Where's Bruce?"

"Probably out having a staring contest with a gargoyle." Jason shrugged, typing on his phone. "He left behind the brat."

There was the sound of rushing feet and the door to the living room was thrown open. A dark haired boy of about 15 ran in and threw his arms around Dick.

"Alfred told me you just got in"

"Hey Tim," Dick hugged the current Robin. "Why aren't you on patrol?"

"I have a history test tomorrow. Alfred put his foot down." Tim frowned.

"You're going to faaail." Jason said in a sing-song voice, not looking up from his phone.

"What the hell did you do to your hair?" Dick frowned at the white streaks Jason had added since the last time he'd seen him.

"It's called going against the system." Jason said.

"It's called you look like a skunk." Tim muttered.

Jason pulled a knife out of his boot and threw it at him, but Tim had grabbed a coaster in anticipation of his move. The knife sank harmlessly into the coaster.

"Too slow, Todd." He taunted

"One of these days, Drake."

Dick rolled his eyes. "It's so nice to come home to the warm, caring, embrace of family."

Tim looked at him in confusion. "The gala's not for another 2 weeks, why are you here so early?"

"Because Dickie bird's in trouble." Jason smirked.

Dick frowned at him. "Who are you even texting?" he asked. "Everyone you know is here."

"Your mom, Grayson."

"Jason, get your feet off the table." The deep rumble of Bruce's voice caused Jason to drop his phone. Dick raised an eyebrow, he'd known Bruce had been in the room since Tim complained about his history test, but apparently none of the others had.

Bruce looked at Tim. "Go study, Tim. Alfred will blame me if you don't pass that test."

Tim nodded and left the room. Bruce looked at Dick. "You came.

"Well, I was summoned." Dick said.

Bruce turned to Jason, his expression blank.

"What? No, I want to stay." Jason whined.

"I need to talk to Dick alone." Bruce said quietly. "I've already told you and Tim."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He got up and left the room.

Bruce sat opposite Dick. "I've been monitoring events in Starling and I'm beginning to get concerned."

Dick let out a disbelieving cough. He'd gone to Starling covertly during the Slade Wilson attack. He'd seen the destruction and helped as many people as he could without giving away his involvement to the Arrow. "The earthquake machine and super soldier massacre didn't set off any alarm bells?" He said dryly

Bruce's face remained impassive as he continued "The league of Assassins is active in Starling."

"That's not exactly news." Dick said. "And why do you care; you don't concern yourself with things outside of Gotham. Starling is the Arrow's territory."

"The Arrow is dead." Bruce said bluntly. Dick sat up in surprise.

"How do you know that?"

"Malcolm Merlyn." Bruce ssaid.

Dick shook his head. "I see we've been playing with the Ouija board again."

"Merlyn was on the run from Nyssa al Ghul when he made the mistake of passing through Gotham."

Dick internally rolled his eyes at Bruce's possessive attitude towards his city.

"Merlyn explained that he'd set up Oliver Queen to challenge Ra's al Ghul to a trial by combat. The league had put a price on Merlyn's head and he believed that Queen killing Ra's would erase it."

"Oliver's dead." Dick said, shocked.

"I wasn't under the impression that the two of you were close." Bruce commented.

"He and Tommy Merlyn were jerks to me when I was a kid, but that doesn't mean I wanted either of them dead." Dick said. "I take it Merlyn's currently playing shuffleboard with the other inmates down at Arkham?"

"No." Bruce's jaw tightened. "Nyssa al Ghul killed him. She managed to scratch me with a blade covered in poison. I barely administered the antidote on time. While I was distracted, Nyssa dragged away Merlyn. I found his body by the Gotham river."

Dick noticed a scratch on Bruce's chin. Shaking his head, he asked; "What does this have to do with me coming back to Gotham?"

"A new league member has come to my attention." Bruce said. "His name is Al Sah Him and apparently Ra's wants him to be his heir. In order to ascend to Ra's the demon's head has to eradicate all ties to their former life and home…by destroying them. According to my source Ra's has a bio weapon the likes of which we've never seen before and he intends to have Al Sa Him use it on Starling City."

"Starling?" Dick's brow furrowed. "Who's your source?"

"Katana." Bruce said. "A bioweapon of this magnitude could obliterate not just Starling, but the entire west coast. And that's a conservative estimate."

Dick closed his eyes. "Are you sure Katana's intel is good?"

"Her former husband delivered it to the league." Bruce said.

Dick rubbed his eyes. "Who is this Al Sah Him?" Bruce raised an eyebrow. Dick groaned. "I get the feeling I'm not going to like the answer."

Bruce handed him a tablet. There was a video of Nyssa al Ghul being chased by members of the league.

"I accessed the mainframe of Team Arrow's computer system. This was last night."

Dick watched as the members of Team Arrow surrounded the group. There was a short conversation, then one of the assassins lowered his hood. Dick cursed.

"Al Sah Him." He said. "That's Arabic for-"

"The arrow." Bruce said.

"You just said he was dead." Dick said.

"I said that the Arrow was dead. This man is no longer Oliver Queen, at least not completely." Bruce said. "and that makes him extremely dangerous. I need our entire team on this; which is why I called you back to Gotham." Bruce leaned back and fixed Dick with a piercing look. "I need your help at the gala."

Dick shook his head. "Of course. The world is in danger, but by all means; let's eat caviar with the Gotham elite because preserving our social status is way more important."

Bruce remained impassive. "Watch the end of the video." He said. Dick looked back at the tablet. A man in a high powered suit flew down and started firing energy blasts at members of the league.

"That's Ray Palmer." Bruce said.

"You're joking." Dick said. He looked at the stony expression on Bruce's face. "Wait, who am I talking to; of course you're not."

"I invited him and his VP to the gala." Bruce said.

"What does his VP have to do with this?" Dick asked. Bruce fixed him with a glare. "Oh, forgive me for not keeping up with the lives of the Starling City elite. I've been too busy saving the working class of Bludhaven."

"Her name is Felicity Smoak and before she was Palmer Tech VP she was Oliver Queen's executive assistance and before that she was an IT technician for Queen Consolidated. I believe she's Team Arrow's mission tech."

Dick paled. "Did you say Felicity Smoak?" he asked nervously.

"You know her?" Bruce said.

"I met her when she was at MIT." Dick felt a rush of embarrassment. "It was the most horrible blind date of my life."

Bruce looked disinterested. "Then you have an in." He got up to leave. Just before he got to the door, he paused. "Dick…it's good to have you back." He glanced at a side panel on the opposite side of the room next to the fireplace. "Make sure Alfred doesn't catch Tim down here." He left.

"What happened?" a muffled voice said from the other side of the opposite door.

Dick rolled his eyes. "Seriously Jay?"

Jason came back into the room.

"You too Tim." Dick said. There was a silence, then Tim came out of the side panel

"What?" Jason said putting his feet back on the table. "It's not like Bruce didn't know I was listening. Spill Grayson. How badly did you strike out on this date?" He reached for one of the bottles of scotch Bruce kept for company and took a swig.

Dick bit his lip. "She ended up in the hospital." He mumbled.

Jason choked. Coughing, he burst into laughter; tears running down his face.

"It's not funny, Jay." Dick growled.

"Actually; it's hilarious." Jason wiped his eyes.

"What did you do?" Tim asked, horrified.

"He probably bored her into a coma." Jason suggested.

Dick grabbed the bottle.

"Hey!" Jason said.

"If I'm going to be telling this story, I'm going to need this." He muttered. Taking a sip he launched into the explanation. "The original plan was dinner and a movie. A friend of a friend set us up. It went great…until we were walking back to her dorm. There was some live music and we stopped to listen. They were handing out free brownies."

"Oh god." Jason groaned.

"They were pot brownies, right?" Tim asked.

"It's a college campus and they were free." Jason said. "What do you think?"

"The problem wasn't the pot aspect…it was the walnuts." Dick closed his eyes. "I didn't want any and I didn't notice she'd taken one. I was just about to make my move and kiss her, except when I turned she was blue in the face. Apparently she's allergic." He looked sheepishly at the bottle. "She ended up in the hospital for 3 days.

Tim's mouth was hanging open while Jason snickered.

"That's…not too bad." Tim said slowly. Dick winced.

"I administered the epi-pen, but she was still high and well…" the corner of his mouth ticked up. "let's just say she didn't have much of a brain to mouth filer before the mind altering substance and the slight oxygen depravation." He shook his head. "The weed had been tampered with and it made her really sick. It also meant that the school investigated. Everyone labeled her as a narc, even though she didn't name any of those involved. And…" he glared at Jason who was shaking with laughter. "I came to hospital when the doctors cleared her to apologize and I brought these really nice yellow flowers…that she also happened to be allergic to."

Jason fell off the couch holding his ribs.

"Needless to say I didn't get a second date." Dick muttered as Jason tried to get back on the couch. "She was convinced we were jinxed and she started dating this guy named Cooper who was in her code class and brought her class notes to the hospital." Dick glared. "I hope they broke up, he was a jerk. Go ahead, Jason; enjoy my misery."

Jason pulled out his phone. Typing, he let out a low whistle. "This is the girl who turned you down?" He held up his phone which had a picture of Felicity standing next to Palmer at a company function.

"She wasn't blonde back then, but yeah." Dick said. "That's her."

"She's hot." Tim said.

"Ah, I see tiny Tim likes the older ladies." Jason grinned. "Guess this means I have some competition at the gala." He smirked. "I'm totally texting Batwoman. Kate's going to have a field day with this story."

"Don't tell Kate." Dick groaned. "What do you mean competition?"

"Oh you're not going anywhere near her, Mr. Brownie." Jason said. "I'm handling the more delicate aspects of this op."

"You just want to handle her." Tim muttered.

"No one is handling anyone." Dick said. "Did you miss the part where the lives of potentially all the people on the west coast might hang in the balance? Are we really going to fight over a woman?"

Jason smiled. "Your use of the word fight makes it sound like you have a fair shot; which you don't."

Dick groaned and covered his eyes. "And somehow we're humanity's hope to save the world." He muttered.

"Cheers to that." Jason held up the scotch.


	4. Chapter 4

"This suit is the fucking worst." Jason squirmed and tugged at his bow tie.

"Language." Dick muttered. "and it's not a suit; it's a tux." He, Jason, and Tim were standing in the Wayne Manor ballroom smiling at donors. Jason continued to fiddle with his clothes.

"I hate this." He grumbled.

"You've mentioned that already." Tim rolled his eyes. "Does this smile look forced?" He turned to give Dick a large toothy grin.

Dick snorted. "I hope your face muscles got a warm up first or you'll be feeling it in the morning."

Jason leered at a passing socialite. "Speaking of things I'd like to feel in the morning."

"You're a terrible influence on Tim." Dick muttered.

Jason huffed. "How much longer do we have to schmooze the 1%?"

"You do realize that we are the 1% right?" Dick rolled his eyes.

"Not yet," Jason said. "We need to kill the old bat first. I'll hold him down while the two of you go for the throat. We'll inherit billions and never have to do any of these stupid galas again."

Tim shifted away from him. "You have a way too causal relationship with murder." He muttered.

Dick chuckled and glanced around at the crowd. Stiffening he turned his back on them. "Vicki Vale, incoming at 12 o'clock." Vicki was a gossip columnist who Bruce had made the mistake of going out on a date with. She was a social climber desperate to transcend from the person writing the rags to the person who the gossip rags were being written about. The bat boys hated her.

"Damn it Grayson," Jason said. "There's no escape."

"Richard." Vicki held up her hand. "It's so good to see you back in Gotham."

"Hello, Ms. Vale." Dick took her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles.

"Bruce was just devastated when you left." Vicki continued. "He was practically inconsolable."

"Really?" Dick said as Jason snorted. "Well I'm sure he was grateful to have you there to comfort him."

Apparently oblivious to the sarcasm in Dick's tone, or willfully ignoring it, Vicki flashed him a thousand watt smile and turned to look at the gala. "Have you seen him? He promised me a dance."

"Not recently." Dick said, then an idea popped into his head. "But Jason," he grabbed his brother's arm, "is an excellent dancer." He smirked as Vicki latched on to Jason and practically dragged him towards the floor. Jason shot him a death glare over his shoulder. Dick gave him a wave and activated the com in his ear so he could hear Jason attempting to make awkward small talk to Vicki.

"He's definitely going to make you pay for that one." Tim said, grabbing a champagne flute from a passing waiter.

"And you are definitely underage." Dick snatched the flute away. "And Todd can try."

"That's so unfair." Tim whined. "You and Jason drank at these things all the time when you were my age."

"Jason is a delinquent and I didn't have an older brother who knew better looking out for me." Dick smiled. "Besides, we're working tonight, remember? You can enjoy the party next year."

"We never get to enjoy the party." Tim grumbled. "This is Gotham; I'm betting we have 47 minutes before the Joker and Harley ruin our night."

"I'll take that bet because Joker just escaped and got thrown back into Arkham a month ago so he hasn't had time to regroup yet. Plus Harley's working with Ivy now. I'm betting…Penguin in 2 and a half hours." Dick said.

"You boys are both wrong." Katherine Kane had slipped beside them and was holding a martini glass in her hand. "The smart money's on Riddler right in the middle of Bruce's speech."

Dick gave the red head a kiss on the cheek.

"Dick, darling I didn't know you were back in Gotham." Katherine said loudly so all the surrounding socialites could hear. Lowering her voice, she added. "Bruce filled me in on the mission."

"You know who we're looking for?" He asked.

"Ray Palmer and his adorable little VP." Katherine said. "I read her profile and I love her already; smart, beautiful, stylish. She's the stuff dreams are made of."

"Jason and Dick already have a competition going." Tim said.

"Really?" Katherine smirked. "Can I join in?"

"There's no competition." Dick rolled his eyes.

"Not with me in the running there isn't" Katherine said. "I don't usually go for blondes, but I might just make an exception."

"Kate." Dick grumbled.

"Ms. Vale." Jason's voice suddenly came loudly over the coms. "You know everyone who's anyone. Tell me; is that Ray Palmer who just walked in with Thea Queen?"

Tim, Dick, and Kate's attention snapped to the door.

"Yes." Vicki said, her tone hungry. "Though how Thea Queen could have gotten an invite to this party I"ll never know. Her family isn't exactly Starling high society anymore. She must be Palmer's plus one. What a scandal!" Dick could see her practically salivating over the story she could write. "I mean, she's barely over age. He's clearly into much younger women. And seeing as Palmer is the owner of her family's company she might be sleeping with him to get it back. Though nothing is as juicy as the VP that's with them; she was Oliver Queen's personal secretary and now she's Palmer's vice president. I wonder how she swung that-"

Dick muted his com in disgust.

"I see Vicki's in top form tonight." Kate said dryly. "Wonder why she never tries to flirt with me for a story?"

Dick nodded as he turned his attention to the group who'd just entered. Felicity looked…different. She'd been a brunette when he'd met her and she also looked much older. As if she'd seen things she shouldn't have. Though, he mused, considering her night job, she'd probably seen as much as any of the other masks in the room.

"I'm going in." He said.

"Just make sure you have an epi-pen on standby." Tim muttered.

Dick rolled his eyes and made his way through the crowd towards the members of the Arrow's team.


	5. Chapter 5

"Mr. Palmer." Dick said. "Richard Grayson, I'm so glad you could make it." Holding out his hand he noted that Palmer gripped it harder than was necessary; probably to test his strength. Dick turned to Thea.

"Speedy." He grinned as Thea cringed at the old nickname. "It's been a few years."

"Dick." She said, smiling.

He nodded and turned to Felicity.

"This is Felicity Smoak, my VP." Ray said.

"We've met." They said at the same time.

They laughed, nervously.

"Can I just say," Dick ducked his head. "That I'm sorry…again. And I checked with the caterers and everything is nut-free and all the flowers are…not yellow."

"It wasn't your fault. I should have been more careful with what I put in my mouth." Felicity said. Then she flushed.

Thea and Ray looked at each other. "Well this sounds like an interesting story." Thea smirked.

"Felicity and I went on a…sort of terrible date." Dick murmured.

"Well the beginning wasn't that bad." Felicity said.

"So where's Bruce?" Ray said. "I want to thank him for inviting us."

"He likes to make an entrance." Jason's drawl came from behind Dick. "You won't see him until the big speech." He through an arm over Dick's shoulder and gave Felicity an appreciative look. "Todd, Jason Todd." He held out his hand. "I'm the rebellious one."

"Felicity Smoak." She said. "The slightly uncomfortable one." She added as Jason took her hand and kissed it.

"Seriously Jason?" Dick hissed. Giving the other guests a nod he pulled him back. "Enjoy the party. Felicity it was nice to see you again. Maybe we can catch up sometime." Then he dragged Jason away, waiting until they got far enough away from the group to smack the back of his head.

"OW" Jason rubbed his head.

"Next time, leave the smooth talking to me." Dick grumbled. "And never use the Bond line again. No one likes the Bond line."

"Sure they do." Jason smirked. "It's worked for me plenty of times."

"The only reason it worked is because of the money that's associated with your name." Dick frowned. "Wait and see what happens when Bruce inevitably disinherits you."

Jason's face darkened. "Well not all of us are fortunate enough to be the favorite son, Dickie bird." He turned away and went to go flirt with a group of drunk socialites.

"Jay." Dick called, but his brother ignored him.

Dick sighed. He'd apologize to Jason later. Sweeping the room, he saw Tim trying to sneak another champagne glass. Glaring at him, he jerked his head in Thea's direction. Tim sighed and putting the glass aside, he went to talk to the Starling City heiress. Kate was walking over to rescue Ray Palmer from Vicki Vale and Felicity…Felicity was nowhere to be seen.

"If you're looking for Ms. Smoak." Alfred said as he came to stand next to Dick. "I believe you'll find her out on the balcony."

"Thanks Alfred." Dick said. No matter how old he got, he'd never get used to the old butler's intuition. Grabbing a bottle of red wine from behind the bar, he made his way outside. The ballroom had large doors which led out to the balcony. He looked around, trying to spot Felicity when he heard a soft sobbing noise. He spotted her obscured behind one of the large stone plant pots that was on the balcony.

"Felicity." He said, walking over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Dick." She said, wiping her eyes. "What are you doing out here? Wait, you live here."

"Not anymore." Dick sat next to her. Placing the wine bottle and glasses down he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and offered it to her.

"Do you just have these incase of weeping women?" She said, taking the handkerchief and wiped her tears.

"Bruce drilled the habit of carrying around a real folded handkerchief in the tux breast pocket." Dick rolled his eyes. "It was annoying, but it has its uses."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why…" Felicity coughed. "I came out for some fresh air and I don't know what happened."

"There's no need to apologize." Dick said. "And can I say that I definitely prefer this to you going into shock."

Felicity let out a little sound that was somewhere between a cough and a laugh. Looking back at the ballroom through the large windows, she sighed.

"I can't go back in there."

"Yeah." Dick said. "The other women won't want the competition. They'll all be demanding refunds for their facelifts and nose jobs. You're going to ruin every plastic surgeon in Gotham."

"I thought plastic surgery was more of a west coast thing."

"Bad plastic surgery is west coast." Dick corrected.

Felicity shivered slightly.

"Not to pry." Dick said, taking off his tux jacket and putting it around her shoulders, "but do you want to talk about it?"

Felicity gave him a calculating look. "Not to sound rude," she said slowly. "Seeing as this is your house and everything, but I don't think one date gives you enough friend points to be trusted with my deepest darkest secrets."

Dick raised an eyebrow. Deciding to take the direct approach, he said "Secrets like your connection to the Arrow?"

Felicity stiffened. Shaking her head, she stood, looked away and murmured, "Thea has makeup in her purse. I can text her and she can help me fix my face."

"You are a terrible liar." Dick said. "Though it is cute that you thought changing the subject would cover for that." Motioning to the seat next to him he picked up the bottle and used the Swiss army knife from his pocket to open it. Pouring her a glass he held it out for her. Felicity took it warily and sat next to him.

"I remembered that you liked red wine." Dick said.

"You remembered a detail from a date that happened about 6 years ago?" She asked. "That's either very endearing or very stalkerish."

"Well I'd never had a woman almost die on me so it stuck in my mind." Dick said. "So, how does a nice girl like you get involved with a guy like the Arrow?"

Felicity took a sip and closed her eyes. "The Arrow's dead, but you already knew that…Nightbird."

"Nightwing." Dick corrected. "I'll admit to being impressed, no one's guessed my identity before."

"Well, I had a bit of an advantage." Felicity murmured. "Someone told me who Batman was and afterwards, the pieces all fell into place. You're Nightwing. Your brother Jason is the Red Hood, and your youngest brother is Robin and I'm also willing to bet that the red head you were talking to is Batwoman."

There was a slow clap from the grounds. Bruce walked up the porch stairs and over to them.

"Excellent Ms. Smoak. Just one question; if Tim is Robin, how do you account for the fact that Robin started fighting crime when Tim was barely a toddler?"

"Easy." Felicity said. "Dick was originally Robin. The costume has changed twice. The first change corresponded to when Nightwing started operating in Bludhaven. That's when Jason took over. Then when the Red hood joined Gotham's vigilante patrol and that's when Tim became Robin."

"And Katherine?" Bruce prompted.

"Batwoman? Her hair is a dead giveaway." Felicity tilted her head. "Is that her natural color?"

"If you ask her, she'll be more than willing to oblige." Dick muttered.

Felicity fidgeted nervously as Bruce gave her an appraising look. "Is…is this the part where you threaten to imprison you in your evil laid of darkness if I ever reveal your secret?"

"No, Ms. Smoak." Bruce said. "I intended for you and your team to discover my secret tonight; that is if Nyssa hadn't already told you." He turned to the ballroom. "Have the rest of your team come to the manor tomorrow for lunch. We have much to discuss." "He opened the doors to the ballroom and plastering a fake smile on his face, he went to make his speech.

Felicity looked dazed.

"He seems…direct."

Dick snorted. "We don't call it the evil lair of darkness," he said as Bruce began his speech, "we call it the Bat Cave."

There was a loud explosion from inside the ballroom. "GOTHAMITES." A voice boomed. "What was full at the beginning of your evening but will soon be empty? The answer; your bank accounts."

Dick groaned. "I hate it when Kate's right." He stood and held his hand out to Felicity. "Looks like I will actually have to drag you to the evil lair of darkness…for security reasons."


	6. Chapter 6

A few hours later the members of the Bat Family (minus Bruce and Alfred who were talking to the GCPD) and Felicity, Thea and Ray were assembled in the Bat Cave. The three members of Team Arrow were completely star struck.

"Tourists," Jason whispered to Dick as Ray inspected the Batmobile and Felicity stood in the center of the cave looking up at the darkened ceiling. Dick watched her slightly amused. He could remember the first time Bruce had brought him down here. He'd been 8 years old, pained by the loss of his parents. The Bat Cave had been both terrifying and yet full of opportunity; it had been a chance to get justice for his parents. He could only imagine what Felicity was seeing.

Walking over to her he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "How does it compare to the Arrow Cave?"

Felicity jumped and clutched her chest. Glaring at him she hissed. "Don't do that."

Dick chuckled. "You should be more aware of your surroundings." He said.

"How do you guys keep the bats from…messing up the computers?" Ray called from next to the Batmobile. "Or the car's paint job?" He squinted at the darkened ceiling where the bats rustled, their eyes glittering in the shadows.

"They've all accepted Bruce as Alpha-bat." Jason shrugged. "We don't question it."

Thea fiddled with her ball gown. "So, you're all vigilantes?"

"Yes, darlin'." Jason smirked. "And can I say how well you work that outfit, Speedy. Red's my color too."

"And it's mine," Kate rolled her eyes. "But I'm more impressed with your skills kicking ass than your actual ass. We are in desperate need of girl power around here."

"Don't bother." Palmer said, shaking his head. "She's got an ex with a nasty temper that she's doomed to get back with eventually."

Thea crossed her arms and gave Ray a disparaging look. "Well at least I'm not the one salivating over that piece of overcompensation." She pointed to the Batmobile.

Tim and Jason gaped at her.

"Did she just?" Jason asked

"Uh huh." Tim said.

Kate grinned. "Marry me."

Dick sighed. "There was a time when I was the comic relief around here." He said to Felicity.

Bruce swept in. "Let's get started. We already know why you came to Gotham and we're willing to help in any way we can." He stood in the middle of the Bat Cave. He raised an eyebrow at Ray who coughed nervously and shifted away from the Batmobile. Thea snorted. Ray gave her a nudge as he passed. Felicity watched their exchange with an amused expression on her face.

"The good news is the league doesn't come into Gotham, so you're safe." Tim said, giving the three of them a smile. Dick closed his eyes and bit back a smile. Tim's optimism was one of his more endearing qualities. He'd been apprehensive about leaving the youngest of the Bat boys with Bruce because he'd been worried about Tim losing it, but it appeared intact.

"Awww." Kate said. "That is so cute."

"What?" Tim asked.

"Do you honestly think Al Sah Him will honor Ra's' agreement?" Jason growled. Dick noted that Felicity flinched at the mention of the new heir's name. Thea looked away, her expression pained.

"I…" Tim said. "Well now that you mention it, it does sound silly." He looked down, his ears turning pink.

"You can all stay at the manor." Bruce continued. "I've called your company, Mr. Palmer and informed them that you and your VP are going to be here for another few weeks negotiating a business deal. That should cover your presence in Gotham. I'm assuming you brought the rest of the team?"

"Yeah, we're staying at…" Ray trailed off and frowned. "You already know where we're staying, don't you?"

Dick snorted. "He likes to pretend he doesn't so he doesn't scare the little people."

Felicity turned her attention to the Bat Computer. Walking up to it, her eyes grew wide. Turning to Bruce she asked. "Did you build this yourself?"

Bruce nodded.

"He had help from Lucius Fox." Dick said. Bruce shot him a look, but Dick ignored him.

Felicity had turned her attention back to the screen, reaching out a hand she whispered reverently. "Can I touch it?"

"Honey, you can touch anything you want." Jason murmured. Dick rolled his eyes, fortunately Felicity hadn't heard him.

"The guest rooms are in the East Wing." Dick said, before Jason could say anything else. "I'll show you where."

"Alfred's left out some extra pajamas for all of you so you should be comfortable." Bruce said. "I'll arrange to have your possessions brought from your hotel tomorrow."

Dick led the three of them out of the Bat Cave. The East Wing guest bedrooms were on two different floors. Dick decided to lead them to those on the second floor. It was a better tactical choice, because, even if someone managed to penetrate Bruce's external security, they'd still have to climb the house to hurt one of them. Thea and Ray took the first two rooms whose windows faced the front of the house. Felicity chose the room across from Thea's. Her windows overlooked the large grounds behind the house.

"Are, um…are you going to be alright?" Dick asked quietly. Ray loudly cleared his throat. He and Thea were standing in front of their bed room doors, looking at Dick, clearly unwilling to leave him alone with Felicity.

Felicity gave them a grateful smile. "I'm fine, guys." She said. Ray and Thea shared a look which said they didn't believe her, but they relented and went into their rooms. Felicity gave Dick a sheepish smile. "We're all a little on edge." She said.

"I get it." Dick murmured.

"Do you mind my asking how Mr. Wayne managed to make a deal with the league? Nyssa mentioned that he had a past with Ra's."

"Is that all she told you?" Dick asked. Felicity nodded Looking down the hall, he debated sharing the story. Bruce wouldn't like it and Jason would probably kill him. "Can I come inside? This isn't a hallway type of story and the walls in this house have ears."

"As long as you don't try to give me any nuts." Felicity muttered. Then her eyes widened. "I meant the type I'm allergic to, not…" She flushed in embarrassment.

Dick grinned, opening the door, he ushered her inside. Walking over to the windows, he stood and looked out at the grounds. He could feel her watching him and he was grateful that she wasn't pressing him. He took a minute to school his thoughts, then began.

"First let me say that there are things about this I don't know and those who do aren't exactly the most open and cuddly, sharey types. Ra's al Ghul helped train Bruce in the years he was preparing to take up the cowl. It was before he adopted me. Bruce didn't necessarily agree with the whole assassin part of the bargain. Ra's mislead him when he began training him and when Bruce found out he didn't take it well. He wanted to prevent murders, not commit them. He and Ra's got into a fight. This led to an official duel, which Bruce won, but he refused to go for the kill. He walked away which is apparently an assassin no-no. He dishonored Ra's in front of all his goons. Ra's vowed revenge, but he knew that the best way to retaliate was to bide his time and wait for the opportune moment; the moment when Bruce was lulled in a false sense of security…and had something to lose."

Dick closed his eyes. "I'd already begun operating as Nightwing at the time and Jason had taken up the mantle of Robin…" He turned to Felicity and motioned to the bed. "You might want to sit down for this, it's…not exactly pleasant." Clearing his throat, he sat in the chair opposite the bed. He waited until Felicity perched herself on the edge of the bed before continuing.

"Jason was different back then; a little on the felonious side, but nothing too serious. He had a joy about him. There were some days when he was even more upbeat than Tim is now. That all changed when Ra's broke Joker out of Arkham."

Dick noted that Felicity was leaning forward slightly, rapt with attention.

"He then armed the Joker with the means to hurt Bruce in the one way Ra's knew would destroy him. Ra's managed to convince Joker that the Batman had gotten tired of their game of cat and mouse. That it was no longer interesting to him and the only way to keep him in the game was to up the stakes. The Joker took this as a personal insult. He kidnapped Jason and tortured him for days. We looked for him…" Dick closed his eyes, the memory of that moment overtaking him. "We finally found them in an abandoned factory down by the docks. Joker had kept Jason alive just long enough for him to see us come to rescue him. To see the hope enter his eyes before he…" Dick broke off. Felicity gave a small gasp. Dick ran a hand through his hair and briefly gripped the armrest in an effort to center himself before continuing.

"Bruce was ready to kill the Joker. He almost did and I was ready to stand back and let him do it. I was holding Jason as he… I was trying to make sure he wasn't alone." Dick's voice wavered. "Then Joker cackled and said 'that ghul guy was right about how killing your bird would push your buttons.' Bruce realized that Ra's had orchestrated the whole thing to not only destroy Bruce Wayne, but the Batman as well. Bruce would never recover from losing Jason and the Batman would never be allowed to operate in Gotham if he was a murderer. The police would have hunted him down…." His voice broke. "He took Jason's broken body to the league I…I don't know what happened while he was there, but when he came back he'd managed to have Ra's agree that no member of the league would ever interfere with Gotham, or anyone else in the Bat Family. About a year later a vigilante called the Red Hood began operating in Gotham. Bruce doesn't like unknowns and asked me to help investigate. Tim was young and too inexperienced. I found the Red Hood and we fought. There was something familiar about his style. I ripped off his hood and…it was Jason." He leaned back in his chair. "The league has control over a pool of water called a Lazarus Pit. It has restorative, and apparently resurrective, powers. Nyssa put Jason in it and brought him back to life. She left him in Gotham for us to find…it was her way of apologizing for her father's actions."

"Oh God." Felicity, put her hand to her mouth. "Poor Jason."

"The Lazarus Pit brought him back wrong. It took a while before he was stable enough to re-enter public life let alone field work. The PTSD because of the Joker didn't help either." Dick grimaced. "and that's the Bat Family's history with the League of Assassins."

Felicity put her hand on her throat and looked on the ground. They sat in silence. Dick watched her trying to gage her reaction to the story. Her emotions were apparent on her face. She was incredibly easy to read, a quality that he liked. There were too many lies and secret agendas in the world of masks and vigilantes. She finally looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "That couldn't have been easy to share….thanks for telling me."

Dick nodded. "Do me a favor and don't mention this to Jason. Just because he's better doesn't mean he doesn't have his bad days. I don't want to trigger him."

Felicity gave him a watery smile. "It's sweet how much you care about him."

"Well." Dick flushed. "He's my brother." He cleared his throat. "Don't mention that I got mushy either. He'd never let me live it down." He stood. "Are you going to be okay?"

"You asked that already." Felicity looked back at the bed. "Though I'm worried that I might get lost in this bed; I'm pretty sure it's bigger than my room in Starling."

Dick raised an amused eyebrow. "Is that an invitation to be your bed guide?"

Felicity buried her face in her hands. "Good night Dick." She said.

Dick gave her shoulder a squeeze before turning to the door. "Good night, Felicity."

* * *

Al Sah Him watched the light go out in the blonde's room. He'd come to Gotham by himself as it would be easier to avoid the Bat's detection. He'd been watching the house all night. The blonde woman was there, he'd seen her come out on the balcony and she was breathtaking. He'd quivered with jealousy as the dark haired man had come out and talked to her. Then Nightwing had given her his jacket and it was all Al Sah Him could do to stop himself from tearing the man apart. The bird boy had no right to her; she belonged to the demon's heir. He watched in fury as the dark haired man took her hand and led her inside. A rage which only increased when, approximately an hour later, they both entered a bed room together. The dark haired man was standing in front of the window. Al Sah Him considered killing him then, but he couldn't risk incurring the wrath of the Bat…at least not yet.

"I'll kill him in time." He murmured. He'd eliminate the false heir and destroy the man who dared to try to take what was his.

"Soon, Fe-li-ci-ty." He said, looking at the darkened windows where his prize was sleeping. "Very soon."


	7. Chapter 7

"Sooo." Dick said as he leaned against the large wooden desk in Bruce's study the next morning. "Come here often?" The Bat Family and Felicity, Thea and Ray had both assembled there the next morning. They were waiting for the rest of Team Arrow and Bruce.

"Where's ye old Bat?" Kate asked.

"Surveying the grounds." Alfred came in carrying a large tray with muffins, tea and coffee.

"Are we…allowed to eat in here?" Felicity watched as Tim, Dick and Jason rushed to be the first to grab the muffins. Dick won and held the tray high over their heads. Carrying it over to the desk he set it down and grabbed a muffin, stuffing it into his mouth. Alfred left the room.

"Grab them now." Kate said, getting up and pushing Jason out of the way. "The scramble for Alfred's baked goods makes the Hunger games look amicable."

"No worries, babycakes." Jason handed her a chocolate chip muffin. "I've got you covered, and if you get crumbs on the carpet, I'll protect you from mean old Mr. Wayne."

Tim rolled his eyes. "You couldn't wait until after we ate to be gross?" He said as he took a bite.

Felicity fixed Jason with a saccharine smile. "Call me babycakes again and I'll make sure that the next time you use your phone it blows up in your face."

Jason gulped nervously as Tim and Dick both choked on mouthfuls of muffins. Kate grinned. "You and me, Smoak; we're going to destroy these boys."

Breakfast continued. Dick walked over and handed Felicity a cup of coffee. "I see you made it safely out of your bed." He murmured. "Though it is disappointing; I was hoping I'd have to go looking for you."

Felicity blushed, then felt a rush of guilt. There was something strange about flirting with another man when Oliver was still out there. She knew she had nothing to be guilty over, but there wasn't any protocol for these things. There were no self-help books titled "So the man you loved but never dated just came back from the dead as a brain washed assassin." She took the cup and looked away. Dick raised an eyebrow and went back to his seat in front of the desk.

Alfred came back in. "The rest of Team Arrow has arrived as well as your luggage from the hotel." He stood aside to let in Digg, Roy, Laurel, and Nyssa into the room.

Felicity noted the way the 3 Bat boys reacted to the team's entrance. Tim appeared excited. Jason's outward appearance was one of boredom, but Felicity noted the way his fingers twitched when Nyssa walked into the room. Dick had crossed his arms and was smiling slightly, but it wasn't genuine; his eyes were steely and cold. Felicity followed his gaze and realized he was looking right at Laurel.

"John Diggle." Digg said, holding out his hand. "This is Laurel Lance, Roy Harper, and Nyssa al Ghul. Dick shook his hand.

"Richard Grayson, but everyone calls me Dick, laugh it up now." He added as Roy snickered. "This is Kate Kane, Tim Drake and Jason Todd. Also known as Batwoman, Robin, and Red Hood." Laurel's eyes had widened.

"Dick?" she asked quietly.

"Dinah." Dick said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Laurel flinched.

"You…um, you look different."

"Well, Clown boy's all grown up." Dick's voice got lower, darker.

"Clown boy?" Felicity asked.

"The affectionate nickname Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn gave me because I was raised in the circus." Dick's answer caused Laurel to bow her head in shame.

"We were just stupid kids." She said quietly.

"Yes, you were." Dick turned away, there was a dark storm brewing in his eyes.

"Ollie and Tommy bullied you?" Thea asked.

"They did worse than that." Dick said darkly. "You were too young to realize what was going on."

"Is that why the Bat Family never helped Ollie when he was the Arrow?" Thea asked. The Bat family froze. Looking at each other, they all turned to look at Dick, as if seeking a signal. Dick crossed his arms.

"Let's just say we had our reasons." He said. "And believe me, they were good ones."

"Because he bullied you?" Roy asked.

"It goes deeper than a simple school yard brawl." Dick said, "But I'm not in the mood to dredge up the past just now."

"Especially when the League is gearing to plunge the entire western seaboard into a horrific epidemic." Kate muttered.

The entirety of Team arrow froze. Only Nyssa seemed to understand what Kate was talking about.

Dick raised an eyebrow. "Did you guys not know?"

"The league no longer has access to the virus." Nyssa said.

"Virus?" Digg asked.

"It is a part of the ascension ritual that the Demon's Head destroy all ties to their former life, including their former home." Nyssa said "The league was in possession of something called the Alpha Omega virus. I stole it before I left Nanda Parbat."

"I know I'm still getting used to the whole crime fighting thing," Ray said slowly, "But I'm pretty sure that's the kind of thing you share with your team."

Jason nodded. "It's in the manual."

"There's a manual?" Ray turned to look at him in excitement, then he realized how silly it sounded. Roy snorted.

"Where's the virus now?" Digg asked, desperately trying to get the conversation back on track.

Nyssa pulled her sword from its sheath. Twisting the handle, she removed a vial. Dick took it from her, gingerly. "We can analyze it. Bruce might be able to neutralize it or find a cure."

Tim frowned at the door. "Where is he?"

The door opened and Bruce walked in.

"Were you listening so you could time that entrance?" Jason asked.

Bruce looked at the vial in Dick's hand. "Is that the only virus?"

"The only one that I know of," Nyssa said. "Thank you for allowing me back into your city after…" she hung her head. "I know our last meeting was less than cordial."

"That's an interesting way of phrasing attempted murder." Kate muttered. Bruce ignored her and gave Nyssa a considering look.

"I owe you a debt." He said. Jason shifted uncomfortably. "However, killing will not be tolerated. Cross that line and I will no longer protect you." He crossed to stand behind the desk. "That goes for the rest of you as well." Felicity had no doubt that he would carry out on his threat.

"We're going to keep the fight in Gotham." Bruce continued. "When Al Sah Him chooses to defy Ra's and attack, we'll have the tactical advantage. Al Sah Him may know Starling, but I know Gotham better. This will put him in the uncomfortable position of fighting in unknown territory when he attacks."

Felicity closed her eyes. "If he attacks," she murmured.

"He will, Ms. Smoak."

Felicity gave a start and looked up to see Bruce staring straight at her. "I understand that this may be difficult for your team, but the man who attacked Nyssa is not Oliver Queen. I need to know that you won't hesitate or falter when you face him or I won't allow you to do it."

Digg frowned. "This man is our family. You can't just expect us to give up on him."

Bruce's face retained the same stony expression. "We need to stop him first. The discussion of whether or not he can be saved waits until after we apprehend him." He focused on Felicity. "In all likelihood he knows you don't want to give up on him and he will use that as a weapon against you."

"He's my brother." Thea said.

"That remains to be seen." Bruce's dismissive tone angered Felicity.

"Caring about someone isn't a weakness."

"Allowing it to cloud your judgement is." Bruce said. "While we won't be fighting to kill, he will."

Felicity was about to retort when Dick cut across her. "We're devising a partnership schedule in order to help you familiarize yourselves with Gotham. Everyone is getting paired with a member of the Bat Fam when we go out on patrol. Felicity will be in the Bat cave running coms with Alfred."

"I call dibs on the bird." Jason leered at Laurel.

"Guess who just guaranteed that I won't work with them?" Laurel said

"You're not choosing teams. We've already chosen who's going with who." Bruce said.

Jason frowned. "We?" Understanding dawned on his face when Dick shifted uncomfortably. "Oh." His expression was pained. Dick cleared his throat.

"Black Canary will be with Robin, Atom and Speedy with Batwoman, Sergeant Diggle will be with Red Hood, Arsenal will be with me and Nyssa will be with Batman."

"We go on patrol tonight." Bruce said. "Mr. Palmer, Ms. Smoak, I'll meet you outside in 10 minutes. We need to maintain our business deal cover. I'll be driving you over for a tour of Wayne Enterprises." Felicity felt a stab of irritation at being dismissed and followed everyone one began filing out of the room. "Not you Dick." Bruce said. "I need to talk to you."

"We'll be in the Cave, testing out the newbies." Tim said. He and Jason shared conspiratorial grins as they ushered Roy, Thea, Laurel, Digg and Nyssa towards the grandfather clock which served as the secret entrance to the Bat Cave. Kate followed.

Felicity was the last to leave. Shutting the door behind her, she caught a slight glimpse of Dick's angry expression as he turned to talk to Bruce.

* * *

Dick waited on until Felicity closed the door before rounding on Bruce. "What the hell was that with Jason?" He asked. "I thought you were going to consult him on the group assignments."

"He's not ready."

"It's been 5 years Bruce." Dick growled. "He needs to know that he's trusted."

"I'm not making that decision just yet." Bruce said.

Dick felt the familiar frustration at his mentor. "What is it going to take to have you realize that you can't keep shutting him out?"

Bruce remained impassive. Dick threw up his hands. Sitting down in the chair he grumbled, "And then you wonder why I left."

"I don't." Bruce said.

Dick raised an eyebrow. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"The nature of Ms. Smoak's relationship with Oliver Queen." Bruce said. "I anticipated resistance from the group, but her reaction was one I did not expect."

"Care to share?" Dick crossed his arms.

"She's in love with him."

Dick closed his eyes. "Damn."

"Which makes her the most vulnerable, and the most unpredictable. He will use her feelings for him to his advantage."

"He was always a manipulative bastard." Dick growled. "And that was before the island turned him in to a killer."

"Dick." Bruce said. "What I said about feelings clouding judgement…that applies to you too."

Dick stood up. "How can you say that? After everything he did, after what happened to Bar –." He sat down again. "Oliver Queen was always a monster, now he just has the outfit to prove it."

Bruce stood. "Offer to take her out to lunch after the company tour today. See what intel you can gather."

Dick's disgust must have shown on his face, because Bruce raised his eyebrows. "It was your intent to ask her to lunch, wasn't it?"

"I wasn't planning on blindsiding her." He got up to leave. "Some people got out to lunch just to have lunch; not because they have a secret agenda."

He slammed the door behind him. Storming down the stairs he went to the garage. Bruce's words echoing in his mind. He couldn't believe that Felicity could be in love with Oliver, but he knew from experience that Oliver Queen was a poison who managed to ruin anyone who came close to him. Shaking his head he turned to his bike. Bruce had to have misread the situation. Grabbing 2 helmets and an extra bike jacket, he drove out to the front of the manor. He arrived just in time to see Felicity and Ray coming out of the manor. He stopped and tossed her a helmet.

"Hop on." He said.

Felicity caught the helmet and looked at Ray. "Um…I'm supposed to be touring Wayne Enterprises." She said, coming closer.

"I'm kidnapping you." Dick held out the jacket. "Come on, Smoak. Ride with me." He felt a surge of relief as she slipped on the jacket and got on the back of the bike. Clipping on the helmet, she put her hands around his waist. Dick looked up towards the study where Bruce was looking down at them. Dick drove out of the property.

* * *

Bruce watched them leave. Dick had stormed out so fast he hadn't let Bruce tell him everything he'd discovered. There'd been a breach on the property the night before. Al Sah Him had been there and he'd left a calling card. Bruce reached into his pocket and took out the gray green arrow head with writing on it. It was a typical League arrowhead and had been left directly underneath the window of the room Felicity had occupied the night before. Whether it had been left by Oliver Queen, or Al Sah Him had yet to be seen.


	8. Chapter 8

Dick weaved through the morning Gotham traffic. Felicity clung to him. She'd seen Sara and Oliver perform all sorts of unbelievable stunts on Oliver's motorcycle; stunts that seemed even more unbelievable now that she was actually riding on a real motorcycle.

"Don't worry." Dick said as he stopped at a red light. "You're not going to fall."

"What makes you think I think that I'm going to fall?" Felicity said

"The trembling and occasional squeaks are pretty good clues. I am a detective after all." Dick smirked. "This is perfectly safe."

"Easy for you to say." Felicity huffed. "I bet you can probably do backflips off this thing."

"Yeah," Dick said. "But I usually save those for the Nightcycle."

"The Nigh- please tell me that's not the name you gave to the motorcycle you use for your nightwinging." Felicity groaned

"Says the woman that belongs to Team Arrow." Dick laughed. "You could at least have tried something more clever like; the Merry men."

"Funny." Felicity said.

"Anyways, the Nightcycle's back in Bludhaven. She's twice as big as this one and teched out with smoke bombs and…" he trailed off as Felicity began shaking behind him. "Are you laughing at me?"

"It's just – " Felicity said, "you sound so in love."

Dick bristled in irritation. The light turned green. "Hang on, Smoak." Accelerating, he took a turn much faster than was necessary. Felicity yelped and squeezed him. She could feel his stomach muscles vibrating under her fingers as he laughed.

"Jerk." She hissed.

"I told you to hang on." Dick feigned innocence.

There was the sound of a siren and an unmarked police car began following them, lights flashing.

"Damn." Dick muttered.

"Karma." Felicity grinned.

Pulling over to curb, he turned off his bike. Felicity turned to see a woman with olive skin and dark brown hair come out of the car. Seeing her, Dick relaxed.

"Grayson." She said. "I heard you were in town. I guess it was only a matter of time before I pulled you over."

"I think you have me mixed up with my brother." Dick said. "You know; the one with the actual criminal record."

"Just means we couldn't get anything to stick." The woman grinned and turned to give Felicity an appraising look. "I'm detective Renee Montoya; you must be Felicity. Kate told me about you."

"It's nice to meet you." Felicity said.

"Detective?" Dick whistled. "Nice, how desperate is the GCPD for new recruits?"

"Well, Officer Grayson." Renee crossed her arms and sighed dramatically. "Here I was disposed to be merciful, but now I think I'm going to have to give you a ticket." She turned back to Felicity. "Dick's a traffic cop at the Bludhaven PD. You'd have thought he'd know better than to speed."

Dick chuckled. "Someone's still bitter that we kicked her team's ass at the inter city police baseball game."

Renee ignored him. "I guess men always do stupid things when they're trying to impress beautiful women." She said, smiling at Felicity.

"NO" Dick said, glaring at her. "Don't even think about it; go hook up with your ex."

Renee rolled her eyes. "Rude." She directed her next comment at Felicity. "When you hang around the Bat boys long enough you'll start picking up on their quirks; Red's trigger happy. Baby Bird's a bit like Bambi and Big Bird's mouth often gets the best of him."

Felicity's eyes widened as she realized that Renee must know what Dick did at night.

"Not all of it." Renee grimaced. "I'm not into watching…unless you're offering to put on a show."

"I said that out loud." Felicity groaned.

Renee turned back to Dick. "This one needs to stick around. We need someone who speaks their mind around here; there's too many broody wrinkled brows." She began walking back to her car. "Oh and Grayson, I'll send that ticket to the manor; think of it as your welcome home present…or a thank you for a great baseball game."

"Aaawww Nene, you shouldn't have." Dick snarked.

"Call me that again and I'll embarrass you in front of your girl." Renee retorted.

"I'm not his – "

"She's not –"

They turned to look at each other in embarrassment.

Renee chuckled. "Could've fooled me." Getting into her car, she threw them one last smile before driving off.

"I like her." Felicity said.

"She's much nicer when she's dating Kate." Dick muttered. "Well, nicer to me anyway. Maybe I can get Kate to talk her out of giving me that ticket…oooor I could have you convince her."

"Excuse me?" Felicity said.

"What do you say, Smoak?" Dick grinned. "I'll buy you a really expensive low cut dress and some really high heeled shoes. Just give Renee the doe eyes and she'll be paying me the price of the ticket."

"Has anyone told you; you're worse than Jason." Felicity said.

Dick chuckled and kicked his bike into gear. Felicity let out a yelp of surprise as he began driving.

"DICK!" She shouted, just as they passed a car with a mother and 3 children. The woman glared at her.

"Got that out of your system?" Dick asked. "Because there's an elderly couple over there who might enjoy your verbal outbursts."

Felicity poked his stomach. "I may have just scarred those children for life."

"Nah, you just put their mother in the uncomfortable position of explaining the facts of life a lot sooner than she planned."

Dick drove them to Gotham Pier. Turning off the bike, he got off and helped Felicity off. Offering his arm to Felicity he led her to the end of the pier.

"It's weird being here in the day time." He commented.

"Why are we here?" Felicity asked.

"Well, little known fact; because of some unnatural natural phenomenon, this is the only spot in Gotham where you are almost guaranteed a glimpse of sunlight."

"You're not serious." Felicity giggled.

"Stand right there." Dick placed her on a place in the middle of the walkway. Looking up at the overcast he squinted. "Yep, today is the perfect day for it."

"For what?" Felicity laughed.

"Wait for it….." Dick said. "Now." There was a slight break in the clouds and a ray of sunlight came and hit Felicity, illuminating her and a small strip of the pier.

"Oh, you dazzle me." Dick threw up his hands and covered his eyes. "You're too bright for this creature of darkness."

"People are staring." Felicity blushed.

"They're just not used to the vitamin D." Dick grinned. "Plus with the sun hitting your hair at that angle, you sort of look like an angel."

Felicity bit her lip and stepped out of the patch of sunlight. She and Dick began walking. "So, why did you really bring me here?" She asked.

"I…have a difficult question to ask you." Dick said.

"No, I am not eating any brownies with you." Felicity grinned.

"Funny." The corner of Dick's mouth quirked, but his expression sobered quickly. "Bruce had this…ridiculous theory that…well, that you're in love with Oliver."

Felicity froze in her tracks. Dick took two steps forward and stopped. Felicity looked at his back as his shoulders shook.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." He said, laughing humorlessly. "What is it about Oliver Queen that makes smart women so incredibly stupid?" He turned to look at her in disappointment.

"You don't know Oliver." Felicity said, defiantly.

"No, Felicity." Dick's eyes were pained and full of pity. "You're the one who doesn't know him." Sighing he ran a hand through his hair. "I brought you here in case Bruce turned out to be right." He pointed to the assisted living facility across the street from the pier. "There's someone you need to meet."


	9. Chapter 9

"Ah, Mr. Grayson." The receptionist smiled warmly as they walked into the facility. "We haven't seen you around here for a few months."

"I got caught up with work." Dick said. "How is she?"

A shadow crossed over the receptionist's face. "She's improving, but she's asleep now. She's usually awake when her father comes to visit in the afternoon."

"We'll just go in and see if she's faking it." He flashed the receptionist a smile. "You know how sometimes she pretends to sleep to avoid unwelcome visitors."

The receptionist laughed. "Your brother Jason hasn't managed to find her awake in 3 months."

"We promise not to disturb her."

The receptionist nodded. "You know the way, and thank Mr. Wayne for his generous donation."

Dick flashed her a smile. Leading Felicity over to the elevator, he pushed the button for the 5th floor. Felicity noted that the floor was reserved for private, live in patients. "Who are we visiting?" She asked.

Dick watched the closing doors. "Last night you were very quick to figure out who was under which mask…but you missed one."

"What?" Felicity considered Dick's question by running through all known members of the family. "Oh, do you mean Bat Girl? Isn't that Kate before she became…." Felicity trailed off as Dick shook his head slightly.

"People assume that Batwoman and Batgirl are the same person because of the red hair. No one outside of the Bat Fam knows the truth." The elevator opened and Dick led her out and into the hall. They began passing rooms heading towards the end of the corridor. Stopping at the last door, he squared his shoulders and took a steadying breath. Opening the door, he walked in slowly. Felicity followed.

Inside, the room was more personal than any hospital room Felicity had ever seen. There were couches, a closet, bookshelves, and a computer. Felicity's eyes were drawn to the large bed. There was a young woman, about Felicity's age. She had red hair, darker than Kate's, but every bit as vibrant. Next to the bed was a wheelchair.

"Felicity, meet Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl." Dick's voice was hushed.

"What…what happened to her?" Felicity watched as Dick walked over and tenderly pushed a stray strand of hair from Barbara's face.

"Oliver Queen happened to her." He said darkly. "She was my best friend. My…only friend growing up. We went to school together at Gotham Academy. I was the circus freak who'd been adopted into money and she was the cop's daughter who got in on a gymnastics scholarship. We were outcasts, the misfits." He smiled fondly. Looking back at Felicity he explained. "Children can be cruel. Barbara's father is Police Commissioner Jim Gordon. At the time he was a detective and not a popular one. The GCPD used to be one of the most corrupt in the country. Blackmail, payoffs, bribes, murder, you name it; the police either participated or covered it up. Gordon was one of the only good men on the force and made it his personal mission to clean up the department. Predictably he made a lot of enemies in high places…whose children took their parents' frustration out on Barbara." He closed his eyes. "Then one day Oliver Queen transferred into Gotham Academy. It was a pit stop on his grand tour of getting kicked out of every upscale private school in the country only to have his father pay his entrance into a new one." Dick closed his eyes.

"Oliver was…one of the worst of the bullies. He'd smile to your face when you were alone, but the second he got an audience…" Dick chuckled humorlessly. "Barbara hated him and Tommy Merlyn. But Oliver…he set his sights on Barbara, he wanted her." Dick snorted. "She was too good for him and she could have kicked his ass any day of the week. Hell, she could kick my ass and I'd been trained by Bruce for 3 years before she donned the cowl. Every time Oliver's father had a business deal in Gotham or came to the gala or had any reason to be on the east coast, he'd come with. Barbara was disgusted by him, then she decided to get revenge. It was our senior year of high school. She'd just been accepted to Gotham University for computer engineering and programming." He nodded at Felicity's look of surprise. "She was as good with tech as you are. Oliver, of course, had had his father pay his way into an ivy league. I think Harvard was the first one followed by Brown. Barbara decided to invite him to Gotham to 'celebrate'. The idea was to get him trapped by me dressed up as the Riddler so we'd scare him. Then Barbara would pretend to kick my ass, thereby saving Oliver and embarrassing him…." He looked sheepishly at the floor.

"It was a stupid, stupid plan. We were drunk when we came up with it. I…I never should have okayed it but after the years of him being a complete ass I was tired and…" he stopped. "They went to a club first and…she got too confident, like she always did…" He smiled affectionately. "Someone managed to spike her drink. Oliver had stopped the car in an alley and was trying to…convince her to take off her clothes." Dick shook his head. "I was on coms so I heard everything. Barbara had been trying to hold him off until I got there, but…Joker got there first. Oliver freaked and tried to drive them out, but only succeeding in crashing the car. Barbara was already disoriented because of the roofie, then she sustained a head injury because of the car accident." Dick clenched his fists and tried to regulate his breathing. "Oliver left her there. He ran and left her trapped in a ruined car with a madman. I arrived just in time to tackle the Joker, but he managed to shoot Babs in the back, da…damaging her spinal cord." There was a small tear in the corner of his eye and Dick angrily wiped it away.

"She…she can't walk anymore and sustained severe neurological damage. There are days when she's Babs and it's just like old times, but other days…" he shook his head. "She doesn't know me or who her father is." There was pain etched on his face. "And this is the price of being in the orbit of Oliver Queen."

Felicity closed her eyes and covered her mouth, fighting her tears, she said quietly. "He…he was a different person after the island. Everyone says so."

Dick snorted. "Everyone was blind to who he was before. Babs was swept under the rug. Robert and Moira tried to pay off Gordon, but Bruce stepped in. He told Moira and Robert that they were despicable and told them that Gotham looked after its own. I've never seen him so angry. He struck terror into the…black hole in Moira Queen's chest she called a heart. It didn't change the fact that Oliver walked away from this without a scratch, but Babs…." He broke off. He looked at Felicity. "You loved him, but did he love you?"

Felicity's chest tightened. "Yes." She said softly. "He told me…" She stopped, replaying the conversation in the mansion the night of Slade's attack. Then there was the time before he left to fight Ra's. He'd never been willing to go farther; to commit himself to a relationship with her. Even after giving her hope.

Dick gently put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." He said, "I didn't mean to hurt you, but you had to understand the danger we're up against. I know you care about him, but until we know how badly the league brainwashed him none of us could run the risk of your feelings causing you to second guess your decisions. Especially since he never really deserved your feelings in the first place."

"Why not bring Digg or Thea or Roy or Laurel here?" Felicity asked.

"Because…" Dick looked at Barbara. "Because I don't trust them with her." he closed his eyes. "I'm sure Bruce is going to fill them in at some point if it becomes necessary, but I need to look out for her." He bit his lip. "When my parents were killed I …I never thought I'd find anyone I could care about or see as a family member. It wasn't easy the first few months with Bruce, but then I met her and…everything came together. She's family, Felicity." He bit his lip. "I have to protect her, because I wasn't there to protect her that night. And I owe it to her to not have you, or anyone else, get hurt because of Queen."

"Thanks for…trusting me." Felicity was overwhelmed. She looked nervously at the bed, but Barbara seemed to still be sleeping. "Do…could we come back and visit her? When she's awake, I…I'd like to meet her."

He nodded. "She'd like you."

Felicity wiped her eyes. "I…um… I should clean up my face. I'll leave you two alone." She went out to find a bathroom.

* * *

Dick sat in a chair and looked down at Barbara. He watched her chest rise and fall as she slept.

"Miss you Babs." He murmured. Giving her a kiss on the forehead, he walked towards the door.

" 's not your fault Grayson." He heard a soft voice from behind him say. "though I might start blaming you if you don't visit more often."

He turned to see Barbara's eyes open, a familiar sparkle in their green depths. "She's cute, boy wonder. Make sure Jason doesn't get to her first.'

"Unbelieveable." Dick groaned. "You heard everything didn't you?"

"Only you blubbering over how amazing I am and how thoroughly lost you are without me." Barbara grinned. She looked back at the door. "So, she was Queen struck?"

"It's not funny." Dick said,

"You're right, it's a serious condition." Barbara said.

"How've you been?" Dick asked.

Barbara sighed. "Bruce came in last week and we brooded together. That was fun. Then my dad tried the nostalgic tact by reading me a bedtime story. Jason came for a poker game; I'm now the proud owner of a timeshare in Bermuda."

"That's not what I meant." Dick asked. Barbara's amused expression slipped.

"I've…started to be aware during the gaps. I know when I'm not completely there." Barbara said. "It's like I'm watching myself interact with people, but I can't reach them. My therapist says it's progress and that being cognizant doesn't usually happen for someone who suffered as much trauma as I did, so…positive!" She yawned. "Now get out, I'm actually tired."

Dick gave her a hug. "I'll visit soon."

"You had better." Barbara chuckled. "And I wouldn't mind you bringing Felicity along." She nudged him so he'd let go. "Out; I've seen enough of you for one day."

"Babs." He said, not wanting to leave.

"Shoo." She said, pushing him.

He smiled at her, wondering if the next time he saw her she'd be this self-aware. Barbara seemed to read his train of thought because she gave him a sad smile.

"She's probably back by now." She looked at the door. "Dick, whatever happened between her and Oliver…it's going to take her a while to get over it. Just be there for her and everything will work itself out."

"Yes Dr. Gordon." Dick smirked.

"Ha, don't play games with me." Barbara smiled. "You brought her here for the Babs seal of approval." She put her head back down on the pillow. "Now let me get my beauty rest…not that I need – " Her eyes suddenly became unfocused. Dick saw the moment when she began slipping; when she stopped being his Babs.

"Hello." She smiled at him, her eyes wide and without the spark that he knew so well. "You came to visit me again."

"Yes." Dick said quietly. "Yes I did."

* * *

Felicity was just coming out of the bathroom when Dick left Barbara's room. She'd spent a good 15 minutes trying to process what she'd learned. She'd always known pre island Oliver was someone she'd probably not have wanted to meet, but somehow she'd never really thought of the consequences of his stupid mistakes. The embarrassing stories that Thea and Laurel told of his hard party days took on a darker tone when she considered the people who might have been hurt as a result.

"Sorry I took so long I …" she trailed off when she saw the pained expression on Dick's face. "Are you okay?"

"Sure." Dick said, as though trying to convince himself. "How about we go back to the Manor and see how the others are handling their training exercises. It's almost lunchtime and I think I heard Alfred mention something about making pizza."

Leaving the hospital both Dick and Felicity were too lost in their own thoughts to notice the man watching them from the rooftop.


	10. Chapter 10

"Looking good, Queen." Jason smirked from the computer chair. "Palmer…well there's always room for improvement."

They were running combat drills on the mats. Ray had returned early from visiting Wayne Enterprises, and was currently sparring with Thea. She had swept Ray's legs out from under him within the first 2 seconds. When he hit the mat, she'd flipped him so he was lying on his stomach. Pinning him to the ground, she had one arm around his neck and the other hand was trapping his arms behind his back.

"Let…me…the…fuck…go." Ray coughed.

"Now, now." Kate tutted. "That's no way to talk to a lady."

"Bet you're regretting coming back early now." Thea taunted. "I'm waiting to hear the magic words. Repeat after me; I surrender."

There was a zapping noise and Thea was thrown off, clutching her hands. Ray stood, grinning and flexing his arms. "And I accept your surrender."

"CHEATER." Thea gasped.

"Electromagnetic charge." Ray held up a small device. "Us nerds need to win somehow." He held out his hand to help Thea to her feet. Thea pushed his hand out of the way and stood.

"Amen to that." Felicity said as she came into the cave with Dick behind her. Dick paused and looked at the smug expressions on Tim, Jason, and Kate's faces.

"You're enjoying yourselves, aren't you?"

"Immensely." Jason's grin could have made the Cheshire cat jealous. "I get why Bruce was so tough on us when he was training us; I feel powerful."

"I can't leave you alone for two seconds." Dick chuckled. "Out of the chair, you despot. Felicity needs to get acquainted with the computer system if she's running coms tonight."

"Yeah." Felicity looked hungrily at the screens. "Mama wants to play." She closed her eyes. "Did I?"

"Out loud Felicity." Digg said. "We all heard it, no matter how much we wish we didn't."

Kate and Jason looked at each other.

"Should we leave you alone for this?" Kate asked, nudging Jason to try to dislodge him from the chair.

"What?" Jason said cheekily. "She can play on me."

"Which is why I want to be in the chair, now move." Kate hissed.

"Both of you move; now." Dick said, covering his face. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I'm going to ask Downton Abbey where lunch is." He left the Batcave.

"I'm going to hit the rings." Dick said. Turning back to Felicity, he added. "Don't crash Bruce's system."

Felicity was staring open mouthed at the screens. Sitting down, she ran her fingers reverently over the keyboard. "I'll never hurt this beauty." She looked over at him. "Wait…what are the rings?"

Dick smiled. "You'll see." He said, before walking away.

Tim watched him leave. "Okay Team Arrow, partner up; Nyssa with Roy, Digg with Palmer and Laurel with Thea." He instructed. Kate moved forward to supervise. Walking over to stand next to Felicity, Tim leaned down to whisper. "You went to see Barbara." Felicity looked up at him in shock. Tim grimaced. "It's impossible to keep a secret in a Manor full of detectives…which is also how I know that Dick told you about what happened to Jason."

"How…?" Felicity said.

"You hesitated." Tim said. "This morning when you threatened to blow up his phone, there was a slight hesitation. Then when Bruce mentioned he owed a debt to Nyssa I saw your eyes flicker to Jason." He fidgeted. "Don't worry, I don't think he knows, you know. Just keep treating him normally; he gets pissed when he thinks people are coddling him."

"Is Dick going to be okay?" Felicity asked. "He seemed very shaken after…"

"He's always like that after seeing her." Tim looked at the floor. "I never got to meet her before the accident, but she's still a pretty amazing person. She's like the sister he never had." He looked up at the ceiling of the cave. "All of us Bat family members are misfits and screw ups. We have no one so we cling to each other. Losing one of our own…I can't imagine what I would do if someone hurt Dick or Jason or Kate."

"Mycroft Holmes says lunch is almost ready." Jason said, coming back into the cave. "Tim, go help with the trays." Just then Dick walked back into the main training area.

"Ow, my eyes." Kate covered her face.

"Seriously, Grayson?" Jason sighed, covering Felicity's eyes. "There are impressionable minds present.

Dick, who was shirtless, wearing tightfitting blue and black yoga pants smirked at him. "Can't really do the rings in jeans, Jay."

"I'm calling Renee and having her arrest you for indecent exposure." Kate muttered.

"What are the rings?" Felicity asked, ducking under Jason's hand.

Dick pointed to the opposite side of the Bat Cave. Hanging from the ceiling were a pair of gymnastics rings. Dick began binding his hands with boxer's tape.

"Do you have a salmon ladder?" Roy asked innocently "Felicity looooves salmon ladders."

"Shut up Roy," She hissed.

Dick raised an eyebrow. "You can do the salmon ladder?" He asked, clearly impressed.

"No." Digg shared a smirk with Roy, "she mostly likes to watch."

Dick chuckled.

"Traitors." Felicity muttered, turning her chair so she was fully facing the rings with her back to the computers.

"The salmon ladder is for amateurs anyway," Dick said. "Observe." Stepping on to the mat underneath the rings he stretched out his arms. Then he jumped and grabbed hold of the rings. Pulling himself up, he began swinging his legs back and forth. When he gained enough momentum, he began doing flips. He managed to do 5 in a row before stopping and holding himself upside down."

"Don't do it." Jason grumbled. "Aaaand he's going to do it."

Dick did a split then, shifting his weight slightly, let go of one of the rings so he was only holding himself up by one hand. Holding that position for a few seconds, he began turning flips, alternating hands each time he brought his legs up, switching from right to ring.

"Show off." Jason and Kate muttered.

"After about 5 minutes, Dick put both hands back on the rings, propelled himself into the air, did a somersault and landed on his feet. He turned and grinned at the stunned expression on Team Arrow's faces. Jason nudged Felicity. "You're drooling." He said.

She quickly wiped her face only to find there was nothing there. She shot Jason a glare just as Dick walked back over to the computers.

"I thought you were planning on familiarizing yourself with system." He said coyly.

"I….got distracted." Felicity flushed and turned back to the computer.

"You were flying." Dick turned to look at an incredulous Laurel. "I've never seen anything like that."

"And I learned all that in clown school." Dick retorted.

"The Flying Graysons." Felicity said. Dick looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know that name?"

"There was this traveling circus that came to perform in Vegas when I was a child." Felicity said. "They usually stuck to the east coast, but that winter was particularly bad so they came to the west to make sure their animals did suffer from exposure. My mom took me to see one of the shows. There was this family of acrobats called the Flying Graysons." Felicity's eyes widened. "I remember thinking how amazing it was that even the little boy could perform without the aid of a net." She looked up at Dick. "I'd never seen people fly through the air like that…until now. That little boy, that was you."

"I was 7." He said. "It was 2 years before…I left the circus." He glared at Jason who'd begun snickering when Felicity said little boy. "And I was always short for my age until I hit 15."

"Aww is wittle Gwayson testy about his height?" Jason asked.

"Go back to training." Dick said. Turning his attention back to the computer he said. "Now, this has a few additions which aren't standard with your regular computer set up. For example; this button." He pointed to one on the top of the keyboard. "Don't touch that, that launches the Bat Plane."

Laurel and Digg watched as Dick stood behind Felicity's chair, explaining the intricacies of the Bat computer.

"She seems to have moved on fast." Laurel remarked as Felicity accidentally made a comment about Dick's lack of a shirt.

"Laurel." Digg warned.

"All I'm saying is that they seem awfully cozy."

"They've met before." Ray said, joining their conversation.

"We should be concentrating on helping Ollie." Laurel insisted. "Everyone here's acting like he's a criminal; an animal to be put down."

"He did try to kill Nyssa." Ray pointed out.

"Wayne doesn't kill." Digg said. "So they'll be no putting down. Working with them is our best option to get Oliver back."


	11. Chapter 11

Patrolling that night was different. Usually the Bat Family would make quips over coms while Bruce growled in disapproval, but tonight it appeared that they'd made an unspoken agreement to be on their best behavior. That or they were showing off.

"Things seem quiet tonight." Tim remarked.

"Focus Robin." Bruce growled in his Bat Voice. There was a giggle over the coms.

"Felicity?" Dick said, amused.

"Sorry." She said. "It's just such a funny voice."

"Ain't that the truth." Kate said. Adopting a low gravelly voice she said, "I am darkness. Fear me, criminals of Gotham."

"I eat pizza in a cape." Jason said, imitating the same low tone. "I wear bat boxers because they make me feel frisky."

There was an eruption of smothered laughter across the members of the two teams. The tension which had been hanging over their heads was broken.

"Guys, you're doing it wrong." Dick said; clearing his throat he adopted the low growl. "I have a teddy bear named Mr. Snuggles. He likes tea parties…and justice."

There was a loud crash over coms. Then Alfred's voice chimed in.

"Ms. Felicity has fallen out of her chair. She is otherwise unharmed."

"The coms are to prevent emergencies." Bruce said. "Stop messing around and focus." Everyone fell silent.

Dick turned to Roy. The young archer hadn't said a word throughout the beginning of patrol. Dick supposed it had something to do with Thea being paired off with a different mentor. Though Harper had seemed more irritated when Dick had said bye to Felicity. He decided to see if he could get him to crack and say what was on his mind.

"So, Arsenal; ready to get a taste of the real Gotham?" He taunted.

"Bring it, Nightwing." Harper's expression was guarded. At least Dick supposed it was, it was difficult to tell underneath the hood. He wondered why anyone would choose to fight in an outfit that clearly limited their peripheral vision.

"Oh, you're going to regret saying that." Dick chuckled darkly. Grabbing his grapple, he shot it and swung to a building across the street and halfway down the block. Leaning against the chimney, he waited for Roy to shoot a zip arrow to get to the building. He kept moving from building to building. Every now and then he'd use a short cut he'd learned from his years patrolling the city. He'd pause once in a while to wait for Roy to catch up, then he'd start moving again.

"Took you long enough," he remarked when Ray landed clumsily on the rooftop Dick had chosen to rest on.

"Show off." Roy growled.

"True." Dick nodded. "Stick with me and you'll know Gotham almost as well as Batman."

"There is such a thing as overconfidence." Roy muttered.

"What's your problem with me, Arsenal?" Dick asked.

"You mean besides the completely unnecessary goose chase you just took me on?" Roy retorted.

"You were mad before that." Dick said. "Holding in anger helps no one."

Roy glared and deactivated the com in his ear.

"Um, I lost Roy." Felicity said. "Something I should worry about?"

"No." Dick said. "Arsenal and I are going dark. Be back in a few minutes." He muted his com. "So…what is it you didn't want Felicity to hear?"

"I don't know what you told her about Oliver," Roy began.

"Oh, god." Dick groaned, covering his eyes.

"But she's suffered enough without you poisoning her memory of him because of some school rivalry. We've all suffered enough." Roy crossed his arms

"Don't tell me you were in love with him too." Dick said. "You're not exactly his type."

"Oliver saved my life." Roy shouted. "He's had the back of every person on our team. You can't just expect us to abandon him. If it were any of us, Oliver wouldn't rest; he wouldn't give up until he found us."

Dick shook his head. "Imagine that drive at the beck and call of Ra's al Ghul. We're trying to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone. After we stop him, you can do whatever you want with him. If you want to hug him and do the whole Good Will Hunting 'it's not your fault' routine, be my guest." He paused. "Though I suggest investing in a padded cell."

"You don't even care about her." Roy hissed. "You're using her to get back at Oliver for whatever he did to you when you were kids."

Dick closed his eyes and tried to reign in his anger. "As refreshing as your loyalty to your team is; you're beginning to test my patience. I don't use people's feelings as weapons to get what I want." He focused on his breathing, keeping his tone even. "You're right that I'm mad at Oliver, but it has nothing to do with what he did to me. And I would never drag an innocent person into the middle of it. I'm protecting her from him."

"She doesn't need your protection. Oliver cares about her. I don't care what the league did to him; feelings like those don't just go away."

Dick was about to retort when something caught his eye. Moving to the edge of the rooftop, he took a closer look. "Oh no." He rolled his eyes and turned back to Roy. "I hope you're ready Arsenal, because you're about to get a sighting of a piece of local Gotham wildlife. Did you bring your bird watching gear?"

"What?" Roy looked at him in confusion. "Is this some kind of joke, Grayson?"

Dick pointed to the structure across from the one they were standing on. "There's a Maltese Falcon exhibit at the Gotham Museum of Media Arts." He reactivated his com. "Felicity, can you check on the status of an Arkham inmate named Oswald Cobblepot?"

"On it," There was the sound of typing. "Oswald Cobblepot, code name Penguin…just escaped from his cell about 30 minutes ago…why haven't the police been notified yet?"

"Because Arkham is run by incompetents." Dick muttered. "Robin, and Black Canary, make your way to the GMoMA. Felicity, alert the police. "

"Copy." Robin said.

"Roger." Felicity said.

"And now we wait." Dick said. "Keep your eyes upwards, Gotham's native penguin flies."

* * *

Al Sah Him was watching Arsenal and Nightwing as they surveilled the museum and he'd heard the confrontation. He'd been following the pair since the beginning of their run across the Gotham rooftops. The assassin admitted to being impressed by Grayson's knowledge of the city and ability to move quickly and covertly. Impressed, but not intimidated. He reflected on what Roy had said; Grayson was trying to influence Felicity in order to take what rightfully belonged to the demon's heir. That was inexcusable. The young archer's extreme loyalty to Oliver Queen was also interesting. If the rest of his team remained as loyal…well that might be something to look into.

He glared back at Grayson. The man clearly thought he was safe, he had no idea. Perhaps the message he'd left underneath Felicity's window hadn't been clear enough. Perhaps he needed a more direct approach. He was about to make his move when he heard someone behind him.

"So, I see you've gotten over your reservations and decided to join me, Serab." He turned to look at his fellow assassin.

"The demon's head summons you to Nanda Parbat." Serab said.

"I'm busy." Al Sah Him turned back to the rooftop.

"It wasn't a request." There was a prick of a needle in his neck and the world went black.


	12. Chapter 12

"When were you planning on telling the team about this?" Bruce had walked into his study to find Jason holding the arrow head he'd found underneath Felicity's window. "I looked up what the writing means," Jason continued. "It says 'Al Sah Him will have his rightful property'." He glared at Bruce. "Where did you find this?"

"Underneath Felicity's window, the morning after the gala."

Jason's face twisted into an expression of rage. "That was 3 weeks ago." He growled. "That psycho was on the property and targeted Felicity and you didn't think it was important enough to tell us?" He glared down at the desk. "Or did you just not think it was relevant to tell me?"

"I didn't tell anyone because I contacted Ra's." Bruce said. "He removed Al Sah Him from Gotham, which means we have a truce for now."

Jason shook his head. "I'm telling the others." He said. He'd just made it to the door, when he paused. "You know, you can lecture Dick about not letting his emotions cloud his judgement. About not letting what happened to Barb dictate his actions… but you're just as angry as he is. You contacted Ra's because you wanted him and Al Sah Him to be at odds. Now either Ra's kills him for disobeying his orders or Al Sah Him kills Ra's and ascends to his position…either way, you get to destroy what was left of Oliver Queen, which is what you wanted all along."

He slammed the door behind him. Walking down the stairs he made his way to the living room. Nyssa, Laurel, Tim, Thea and Roy were all there. Nyssa was meditating with Thea. Laurel was playing chess with Tim and Roy was reading.

"I've got something important to tell you guys…" He looked around. "I know Palmer and Digg went back to Starling, but where's Dick and Felicity?"

"Apparently the circus is in town." Laurel said dryly.

Jason sighed. "Tim, call Kate and tell her to get her ass over here." He pulled out his phone to call Dick. It went straight to voicemail. Felicity's phone did the same. He groaned. "I guess I'm going to have to go find them." He shook his head.

"Kate says she's out with Renee and" Tim winced, "that things are just about to get…interesting."

"Tell her I don't care." Jason said.

20 minutes later Kate walked in. "Todd, this had better be good because I was this close."

"Not that close." Renee said, following her in. "What's up?"

Jason dropped the arrow head on the center table. "Nyssa, I'm guessing you can translate this better than what I found on the internet?"

Nyssa picked up the arrowhead and scrutinized the writing on it.

"Al Sah Him will have his rightful property." She said. "He is in Gotham and wants to challenge me for my title?"

"Sort of right." Jason said. "He was in Gotham, but that arrow head was found under someone else's window."

Laurel was the first to realize what he was talking about. "You can't be serious."

Jason nodded. "It was under Felicity's window."

"Couldn't you just have said that instead of making a big dramatic fuss about it?" Kate said.

"Oliver wants Felicity?" Thea said.

"No, Al Sah Him wants Felicity." Nyssa said. "There's a difference."

"Oliver loves Felicity." Roy said. "He's not going to hurt her."

"He referred to her as his property." Nyssa said. "Would the man you knew have done that?"

"There's another problem." Kate said. "If he's declared Felicity his property, then he'd most likely attack anyone who posed a challenge to that claim." She looked around the room. "And judging from their absence, I'm guessing Dick is disobeying Al Sah Him's property claim as we speak."

* * *

"The circus is closed." Felicity laughed. "What are we even doing here?"

"Trust me." Dick said. "I know a guy." Felicity stopped and picked up a fallen program.

"Haly's circus." She read. "Wait…is this your old circus?"

"Uh huh." Dick said. Leading her through the various tents he stopped in front of one of the larger ones. "Here we are." There was a bell hanging on the outside of the tent. He rang it. An old man in a ring master's uniform opened the door. He smiled kindly at Felicity, then turned to look at Dick. His face split into a grin.

"Dick Grayson as I live and breathe." He stood aside. "Come in!" ushering them inside he led them over to some chairs. Felicity looked around the tent. It was full of old circus memorabilia. She noted that the largest of these was a poster advertising 'The Flying Graysons'."

"Mr. Haly, this is my friend Felicity. Felicity, this is C.C. Haly the circus owner and ringmaster."

Haly took Felicity's hand and gave it a kiss. "Friend, you say." His eyes twinkled with amusement. "You know, I helped deliver Dick." Dick groaned.

"Not this story again."

Haly ignored him. "It was a dark and stormy night."

"It was a sunny afternoon in March." Dick corrected.

"We were on the road when his mother went into labor." Haly continued. Dick covered his face.

"There wasn't a hospital to be seen for miles, his mother was screaming and his father fainted."

"That did not happen." Dick said.

"Where you there?" Haly asked.

"Considering that this is the story of my birth, I'd say yes." Dick retorted. Felicity giggled.

"I haven't had a good audience for this story in years, Grayson." Haly smiled, turning to Felicity he said, "you'll forgive an old man his eccentricities?"

"Of course." Felicity said.

"Well, where was I? Oh yes. His father had fainted."

"Didn't happen." Dick mouthed.

"I had never seen such a sight. The man had done death defying tricks for years, but was brought low by the birth of his child. There was no one else in that train car but 2 clowns, a horse rider, and an elephant."

"There was no elephant." Dick said.

"So of course the task of helping his poor mother fell to me." Haly said. "After 20 hours of labor, by which time his father had woken up, his mother had brought this beautiful baby boy into this world."

Dick grinned.

"I was hoping to see you when we passed through Gotham." Haly said.

"You're lucky. I'm actually living in Bludhaven now, though I'm on leave." Dick said. "How's the circus?"

"We hit a bit of a financial tough spot, but we pulled through." The old ringmaster's expression changed. "We are so grateful that we were able to overcome it."

Dick flushed. "I um…I was wondering if I could show Felicity the big top."

"Of course," Haly looked insulted that Dick even had to ask.

"Thank you." Dick stood and held out his hand.

"No." Haly said, grasping Dick's hand. "Thank you."

Dick and Felicity left the tent. "Why do I feel like I missed something?" Felicity asked.

"A few years back the circus was about to go under." Dick explained. "I gave them a pretty big anonymous donation." He shifted. "I don't know how Haly figured out it was me."

Felicity looped her arm through his and leaned against him.

"Come on." Dick said. "The big top's this way." He tugged Felicity behind him.

"You look like a kid in a candy store." Felicity laughed as she let him lead her forward. Dick pulled aside the curtain and they entered the big top.

"It looks a lot bigger from in here." Felicity pulled away from Dick and slowly turned, taking in the entirety of the interior of the bright yellow and red tent. She turned to look up at the platforms on the top of the tent poles where the acrobats would stand during their performance. "That's really high up."

Dick walked into the center of the arena. He looked up at the net which had been left over from the last performance. Felicity came to stand beside him. "Is it difficult? To be here after…"

"A little." Dick said. "But I'd like to think they'd be proud of me." He smiled. "Okay, now for phase 2 of my plan." He walked over to an equipment locker on the side of the arena and pulled out a harness.

"What are you going to do with that?" Felicity asked.

"Me? Nothing, this is for you." Dick grinned. Felicity looked at the harness. Then she looked up at the ceiling of the big top.

"Oh no."

"Come on." Dick said.

"I have this thing about heights." Felicity said.

Dick walked over to her. "If you really don't want to try this, then I understand. But, if you decide you want to, I'll be right there with you and you'll have both the harness and the net."

Felicity looked nervously up at the platforms. "I thought you didn't use a net."

"No, I don't, but I'm not willing to let you take the same types of risks that I do." Dick said. "It's your choice."

"You won't drop me?"

"I am insulted that you would even think me capable." Dick huffed.

Felicity took a steadying breath and held out her hand for the harness.

"You're sure?" Dick asked, handing it to her.

"Don't ask me, I might change my mind." Felicity grumbled. "I'm just really glad you told me to wear jeans."

"Kinda regretting that now." Dick said as he checked over the harness. "It would have made for a good show."

He dodged as she aimed a smack for his chest. "Be nice." He said. "Okay. I'm going to go up the ladder first so I can help you up on to the platform."

Climbing the ladder was a lot easier than Felicity had first assumed. The trick was to concentrate on what was in front of her…which happened to be Dick as he climbed. She found herself mesmerized watching the ease with which he went up. In no time at all she'd made it to the platform. Dick held out his hand and pulled her up.

"See, was that so bad?" He asked.

"Not really." Felicity said, looking away. Dick arched an eyebrow.

"You were checking out my ass, weren't you?" He said.

"No." Felicity muttered.

"Liar." Dick laughed. "It's okay to admit it. I work very hard so women have something to ogle at.

Felicity shook her head, and accidentally looked over the side of the platform. The distance to the bottom made her head spin. Dick grabbed on to her and pulled her away from the edge.

"Hey, eyes on me." He said. "See this?" He held up a carabineer. "This is attached to a safety wire that runs from this platform to the one on the opposite side of the tent. It will move with you. If you slip or fall this will hold you up."

"So basically I'll be dangling like a piece of meat over a shark tank." Felicity grumbled. "How will I get down?"

"That's what the net is for." Dick said as he clipped the carabineer onto the safety harness.

"What?" Felicity hissed.

"Either that, or I swing down, grab you Tarzan style and bring you back to one of the platforms." He paused. "Wait that sounds like way more fun. But that option means you have to go back down the ladder." He shrugged. "It's up to you." Grabbing a pole, he used it to bring two of the trapezes towards the platform. "Walk up to the edge." He instructed.

Felicity closed her eyes and inched slowly towards the edge. "You're not going to die." She whispered to herself. "You're not going to die."

"Way to stay positive." Dick said. He took her hand and placed it on the trapeze. "Now hold on to this." Felicity gripped it tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Relax." Dick whispered gently.

"Easy for you to say." Felicity said. "Not all of us learned to do this before we were potty trained."

"Put your other hand on the trapeze." Dick said. She did as he said. "Look straight ahead. Concentrate on the other platform."

"But it's too far away." Felicity said. "In order to reach it I'd have to transfer to a second trapeze in the middle which would involve letting go and – "

"You're thinking too much." Dick came to stand behind her. "Listen to your breathing. Don't over analyze." He looked down at her. "Do you trust me?"

She looked forward at the other platform and cleared her mind. "Yes." She said. She was surprise by the ease with which she answered him, but she knew it was the truth.

"Then trust that I won't let anything bad happen to you while you're up here." Dick said. He moved away to take his position at the other end of the platform with the second trapeze. "I'm going to count down from 3."

"I'm going to die."

"No you won't." Dick said.

"Just promise that you'll observe the proper Jewish funerary rites." Felicity said.

"3" Dick said.

Felicity whimpered.

"2"

She closed her eyes.

"1"

She jumped. There was a rush of air as she flew away from the platform. She screamed, but by some miracle managed to hold on.

"How does it feel?" Dick asked. She could hear his voice somewhere next to her, but she refused to open her eyes.

"You mean besides mind numbingly terrifying?" She asked.

"Swing your legs back and forth in time with the trapeze." Dick instructed. "Good."

She finally opened her eyes. The feel of moving through the air was amazing. She felt another rush, but this time, it wasn't terror, it was excitement. She turned to look at Dick only to see that he'd somehow managed to flip and was hanging on to the trapeze with his legs.

"You can't resist showing off, can you?"

"And you can't say that you're not having fun." Dick retorted. He reached out and grabbed hold of one of the trapezes in the center. Doing a handstand on it, he once again positioned himself so he was hanging upside down.

"Wait!" Felicity panicked as she swung away from him. "Don't leave me here."

"The next time we meet in the middle, you're going to let go and I'll catch you." Dick shouted.

"WHAT?!"

"Trust me." Dick said. Felicity closed her eyes as she swung forward. She let go. For a few heart stopping seconds, she felt nothing but empty air, then Dick grabbed her arms.

"Hey." He said. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Hey." She said, cursing her voice for being so breathy. She was really glad he hadn't dropped her.

"You do know that the cable would have prevented you from falling, right?" Dick grinned. "And that there's a net?"

"I'm just glad I didn't end up as shark bait." Felicity said.

"Well, you do make a tasty morsel." Dick said, then winced. "Too weird?"

"Definitely." Felicity grinned. "My arms are getting a little tired, though."

Dick gave her a calculating look. "Trust me?" He asked.

"Yeah, wh-"

Dick pulled her up for a kiss. Felicity wound her arms over his shoulders, one hand coming to rest on his neck while the other slipped into his hair. Then she heard a click.

"Dick." She squealed when she realized he'd unclipped the safety harness. "Don't you dAAAAAAAARE" She yelled as Dick loosened the grip his legs had on the trapeze. They fell, the net catching them. Felicity landed on her back with Dick on top of her, his face on her stomach.

"You JERK." She shouted, shoving his shoulders. "I hope you broke your nose." She lay back and tried to catch her breath, watching the trapezes which were still swinging back and forth.

Dick looked at her with amusement. "Was it really that bad?" he asked.

Felicity closed her eyes and remembered the feeling of weightlessness, of flying. "No." She admitted softly. "It wasn't…that bad." She smiled. "It was actually kind of amazing."

There was a slow clapping noise from the audience. They turned to see Tim and Jason.

"I hope we're not interrupting." Jason said.

"What are you guys doing here?" Dick asked as he sat up and got off the net. Turning, he helped Felicity get back on the ground.

"Saving your lives." Jason said. "No need to thank us."

"You guys need to come back to the manor." Tim said.

"Why?' Dick asked. Felicity began untying her safety harness.

"Because of this." Jason handed Dick a picture. "How's your Arabic these days?"

Dick looked at the picture and froze. "Where did you get this?" He asked.

"Bruce found the arrowhead underneath her window." Jason said.

"Which means the manor's been compromised." Dick growled. "Like hell we're going back."

"He found it 3 weeks ago." Jason said. "We're regrouping and coming up with a plan to move forward."

Dick frowned but nodded. "Alright, we'll go back to the manor…for now."

"What is it?" Felicity asked, looking over Dick's shoulder. "What does it say. "

"It's declaring you the property of Al Sah Him." Dick said. "He's basically telling me to back off or else."

* * *

Al Sah Him was dragged before the Demon's head. He'd been kept in a cell for 3 weeks, only receiving food and water when someone felt like delivering it. Ra's obviously believed it would act as punishment.

"Do you know why I kept you in that cell?" Ra's asked. Al Sah Him remained silent. "Our agreement with the Bat is not to be violated."

"Why not?" Al Sah Him hissed. "What could he possibly do to us?"

"You are a fool to underestimate your opponent." Ra's said. "It is what caused you to lose the battle with me."

"You're the fool, old man." Al Sah Him taunted. Standing, he pulled the knife Serab had slipped him earlier and stabbed Ra's in the back. Ra's turned, his eyes wide. He coughed, blood dribbling down his chin.

"I will destroy the Bat and all those who threaten my rule." Al Sah Him declared. "And I will eliminate all those who seek to take what is rightfully mine." Pulling out the dagger, he tore the ring off Ra's' hand and watched as his lifeless body fell to the ground. Turning to the assembled assassins, he held up the Demon's ring.

"Kneel before the Demon's head." He demanded. A thrill ran through him as they all dropped to their knees. He was so close. There was just one thing he needed in order to help him regain what was his.

"I need to go to Starling."


	13. Chapter 13

They'd argued in circles for hours. In the end, all anyone agreed on was that Felicity would definitely not be sleeping in the same room. It was now only a question of where she would move.

"The Batcave." Roy said. "It's the safest option."

"Gross." Laurel shuddered. "There's no way that's sanitary."

"It's also freezing down there." Tim added. "The B-Fam has bases in storage lockers and abandoned subway stations all over Gotham. All Felicity has to do is pick one."

Jason looked at him with irritation. "Never say B-Fam again. You're a superhero, not a Disney channel star."

"How about," Thea cut across Tim's retort, "us Arrow girls all share one room. That way we can all have each other's backs."

"Excellent suggestion and if you want a member of the B-Fam," Kate put extra emphasis on the word B-Fam, Jason gave her the finger, "to join you. I volunteer."

"Kate, this is serious." Jason shook his head. "This isn't the time for sexy pillow fights or –"

"Do you seriously think that's what girls do at sleepovers?' Thea looked at him in disgust.

"Isn't it?" Jason smirked.

"In your dreams maybe." Laurel huffed.

"In mine too." Kate said. "But I was being serious and since clearly none of you can be trusted around these ladies, I'm the obvious choice."

"None of us?' Tim asked.

"Bullshit." Jason growled.

"Excuse me?" Dick glared.

Kate put her hands on her hips. "Grayson's too busy making goo goo eyes at Smoak to focus. Tim's going to be Mr. Shy and Awkward and won't be able to form a coherent sentence and Jason…well let's not even go there."

The boys looked at each other in embarrassment.

"Okay Kate." Dick raised his hands in defeat. "You win. But for the record; I am totally capable of standing guard and making goo goo eyes at Felicity. I'm a talented multitasker."

"And I'll warn Commissioner Gordon about the potential threat to the city." Renee said, getting up to leave. "There has to be an assassin attack contingency plan somewhere under the manuals for deal with Cat Fetishists and Bird enthusiasts."

"Cat –" Roy began.

"Don't ask." The members of the Bat Family said in chorus.

Thea stood. "So we're agreed. Felicity sleeps with us and tomorrow we come up with a better safety plan for the mansion."

There were murmurs of agreement and everyone got up to leave. Felicity hung back.

"Dick, can I talk to you for a second?" She looked at Thea, who was holding the door open. On the other side, Nyssa, Kate, and Laurel were standing, waiting. "I'll be up soon."

Thea nodded and ushered the other women towards the stairs.

Jason and Tim hung back.

"Out." Dick said. "And if either of you try to listen in, I'll know."

"Doubtful." Jason rolled his eyes. "Come on Drake, if you're good, I'll leave your night light on."

"I'm not 5."

"You're 15 it's the same thing."

The door closed on their bickering. Dick and Felicity were left alone, staring awkwardly at each other.

"I'm sorry we brought all this trouble to you and your family." Felicity said, breaking the silence. Dick shrugged.

"It was only a matter of time before the league and the Bat Family were at odds again."

Another silence fell. Dick seemed to be waiting for Felicity to say whatever it was she wanted to say.

"Earlier…" She began, "before we were dealing with assassin drama and room assignments, you…well you kissed me."

The corner of Dick's mouth quirked upwards. "This is true, but if I'm remembering it correctly, you kissed me back." His smirk turned into a full grin. "Quite enthusiastically, I might add."

Felicity flushed. "I…um…this is awkward." She looked at the ground.

"Not really. Adults who like each other kiss each other all the time." Dick took a step closer. "And you do like me…don't you?" His tone was light, teasing. He put a finger under her chin and gently pushed her head up. "Fe-licity" He said. "Are you trying to hide from me?"

"It was a great kiss." She blurted out.

"I know," Dick laughed. "I was there."

"It was definitely something I'd like to repeat at some point, though not necessarily while dangling hundreds of feet in the air, that I could do without."

Dick's eyes lit up and he took another step closer.

"But –" Felicity put her hands on his chest and pushed him back gently. "Oli...Al Sah…" She broke off unable to finish her sentence. She took a deep breath and tried a different tactic. "Anyone who comes close to me is putting themselves in huge danger and I can't…I don't know if I could live with myself if you got hurt and it was because of me."

Dick blinked in surprise. "Are you listening to yourself?" He asked.

"Yes and I can't believe that I'm the one giving the 'it's for your own safety speech', usually people give it to me, but-"

"I literally risk my life every night for complete strangers." Dick growled. "I've put my ass on the line basically every night ever since I was 10, in Gotham of all places. And now I live in Bludhaven, which, no offense to Starling which has had some recent problems, is constantly riddled by dangerous crime. And if that weren't enough I work as a police officer during the daylight hours. Do you honestly think I'm afraid of Oliver Queen?"

"Dick." Felicity pleaded. "I can't having you risk your life for me."

"Why the hell not?" Dick asked. "Is there any better reason to fight, than for some one you care about?" Felicity looked at the ground. "Or do you…" Dick paused, understanding dawned on his face. "You don't think you're worth fighting for." He said softly. "You think because of Oliver pushing you aside and your dad leaving-"

Felicity pulled away. "Thea and the others are probably waiting for me.

"That's it, isn't it?" Dick asked, moving to block her access to the door. "because I'm not them, Felicity."

"I shouldn't have said anything, just forget it." She tried to move past him.

"I don't think-"

"Dick MOVE." Felicity shouted. Dick looked at her in surprise. She slipped past him and rushed out towards the stairs.

"Felicity…FELICITY…WAIT" he called after her. He growled in frustration.

"Chase after her, you idiot." Dick turned to see Jason leaning against the wall. "What?" He grinned. "Did you seriously not know I was here?"

"There is such a thing as privacy." Dick grumbled. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to be totally grossed out." He shook his head. "This is your life, not an episode of a daytime soap opera. You like this girl, don't stand here ruminated in your angst, go and get her. Declare your feelings or whatever."

The corner of Dick's mouth ticked up slightly. "Well, what do you know? It looks like the tin man has a heart after all."

"So grow a pair and get your girl." Jason said. "Before she wises up and realizes she's better off with me."

Dick amicably punched his shoulder and rushed from the room.

"Careful with the merchandise." Jason rolled his shoulder.

Dick rushed all the way to the guest hallway. When he got there he realized he had no idea which room the girls were staying in. He tried the room Thea had originally been in; it was empty. He moved to the room Laurel had been in; again, nothing. He tried all the other doors on the floor; they were all empty. There were 2 more floors in the guest wing.

"Sometimes I hate how big this place is." He groaned. It took him another 20 minutes before he found the right room. Laurel opened it.

"Hey," Dick said. "Can I talk to Felicity?"

Laurel crossed her arms. "She came in here with tears in her eyes. So give me one good reason –"

"FELICITY." Dick shouted, cutting her off. "I'M GOING TO STAND OUT HERE ALL NIGHT AND MAKE AN OBNOXIOUS AMOUNT OF NOISE UNTIL YOU COME TALK TO ME."

"You do realize." Nyssa hissed, poking her head out from behind Laurel. "That not gett her beauty rest makes an assassin quite angry. Murderous, even."

Dick shot her a challenging look. "Take your best shoot."

"Gladly." Nyssa said, a knife appearing in her hand."

"Put it away, Nyssa" Felicity said. "Where did you even hide it?" she moved towards the doorway, but Laurel was still standing in the doorframe, blocking her path.

"Can we get a second?" Dick asked. "Clown boy doesn't like an audience."

Laurel glared at him, but stepped aside. Felicity fidgeted nervously as she shut the door. Leaning against it she looked down the hall away from Dick.

"I can't really talk to you if you're not looking at me." he sighed. ]

"Ears work not matter what the eyes are doing. The two aren't connected." Felicity said. "So I can definitely listen to you without looking at you. Not that I don't like looking at you, I do. You're really very…why am I still talking?" She buried her face in her hands.

Dick gently pulled her hands away. "Open your eyes." He said.

"Nu uh."

Dick sighed. "Well, I grew up with someone who was pathologically stubborn, so I know that me trying to convince you you're being silly will only make you dig your heals in. Which is why I'm going to step back and wait for you to realize it on your own." He kissed her forehead. Felicity shivered. "When you come to your senses." He breathed. "I"ll be waiting." He straightened up. "Goodnight."

Felicity cleared her throat and stumbled backwards. "Good…good night." She watched him walk down the hall.

"I know you're looking at me." Dick shouted over his shoulder. "Whenever you feel tired of fighting your real feelings, you can do much more than look."

"Jerk." Felicity muttered, a smile playing on her lips. She opened the door. Thea, Laurel, Nyssa, and Kate, who'd clearly had their ears pressed against the door, fell on top of each other.

"I…uh…lost a contact lens." Thea said.

"You don't wear contacts." Felicity shook her head.

"You mean we've wasted all this time looking for nothing?" Kate asked.

Laurel and Nyssa made noises of indignant agreement.

"It's amazing," Felicity commented as she stepped over them to go back into the room. "You all lead double lives and you're the worst liars I've ever met."

The room was ridiculously large. The girls had pushed the bed against the wall, leaving a large space in the middle of the room where they set up a blanket fort. Nyssa had insisted it was for purely strategical reasons.

"It's not my fault Thea tricked us into believing she had a visual impairment." Nyssa said, stubbornly.

"Yeah." Kate said. "Laurel has no excuse, but Nyssa and I genuinely thought we were being helpful."

"We were had." Nyssa said.

"Hoodwinked." Kate said. "Bamboozled."

"Led astray." Nyssa agreed.

"Alright, alright." Felicity laughed. "I'll pretend I believe you."

Nyssa and Kate high-fived each other.

"You're sleeping in the middle by the way." Kate indicated the blanket fort. "We're all going to form a box around you. That way they'll be no way for anyone to get to you without going through one of us."

"We've also booby trapped the perimeter." Laurel added pointed to a ring of Sara's sonic devices. "So we'll hear them coming."

"What if someone has to go to the bathroom?" Felicity asked.

Kate and Laurel, who were looking smug at their security innovations, both paled.

"Err." Kate said.

"Um." Laurel looked at her, panicked. 'Well…"

"It will be an excellent training exercise in stealth." Nyssa said, looking pleased. "Potential members of the league must perform a similar task, but it is done with actual mines."

Thea and Felicity shared a look.

"We're the only normal ones here." Thea muttered.

"Thanks guys." Felicity said. "I know you're just looking out for me."

Kate grinned. "Does that mean we get to spoon?"

"Aaaaand there goes the moment." Laurel chuckled.

"Barking up the wrong tree." Thea grinned. "She likes Dick…and not just Grayson."

"What?" Kate said, sitting down on a pillow. "All work and no play makes Kate a dull girl. Oooo can we watch horror movies? I know Batsy's Netflix password."


	14. Chapter 14

3 low budget zombie movies later (Nyssa was the only one who appeared to have actually been frightened, though she insisted it was so the others wouldn't feel bad about being scared) all the girls had fallen asleep except for Felicity. She sat in the middle of the blanket fort lost in her own thoughts when suddenly a slight sniffing noise caught her attention. She looked around her and noticed that Thea's shoulders were shaking slightly.

"Thea?" She gently nudged her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Felicity?" Thea sniffed and sat up, wiping her eyes. "Sorry I…I thought you were…It was so quiet….I"

"Do you want talk about it?" Felicity asked. Thea nodded.

"It's just…so fucked up." Thea said. "I'm sitting here trying to protect my best friend from my brother." Tears rolled down her face. "Why would he…he…How could…Ollie, hurt one of us?"

"I know." Felicity "But the man we saw on the roof suffered, he was tortured and what came out on the other side isn't the Oliver we know."

"This is my fault." Thea sniffed.

"No." Felicity hugged her. "No it's not."

"I chose to go to Merlyn. I knew the type of monster he was and I ignored it and then I…Sara was my fault." Thea leaned against Felicity, her breath coming out in gasps. Felicity held her.

Felicity held Thea as she sobbed.

"No one believes that." She murmured.

"Ollie would never have had to fight Ra's if…"

"Thea." Felicity said gently. "You can't think like that. Merlyn used you and he manipulated Oliver." She pointed to Nyssa. "Nyssa swore to kill the person responsible for Sara's death and you're not dead." Felicity pushed a strand of hair away from Thea's face. "Do you really think she'd have watched stupid zombie movies with you if she'd believed for one second that you were to blame?"

Thea coughed. "That's…weirdly comforting."

Felicity chuckled. "Yeah, I'm good for that sort of thing."

"I can see why Ollie fell in love with you." Thea murmured. "You must have been good for him when he was the Arrow."

"I…I like to think so." Felicity swallowed slowly. The two sat in silence.

"Dick's a good guy." Thea said finally. "I know you loved Ollie, but…if he's really," she had to pause to steady herself, "if he's really Al Sah Him, then the Ollie we knew has been dead for about a year. He'd want you to be happy. The real Ollie, I mean."

Felicity gave her a squeeze. "I think I really needed to hear that." She murmured.

Another silence overtook them. For such an old and large house, Wayne Manor was eerily noiseless. Finally, Felicity broke through the quiet.

"You know, Ray's a pretty decent guy too."

Thea raised an eyebrow. "You like Ray?"

"I don't" Felicity put extra emphasis on the word I. Thea's mouth dropped open.

"I think…I think you mean Roy."

"No," Felicity said in a mock contemplative tone. "Pretty sure I mean Ray."

Thea shook her head. "Am I that obvious?" She muttered.

"Nope, I'm just a genius." Felicity grinned. "And he gets super awkward around you which is probably an indication that he likes you."

Thea was about to say something when the door to the room opened. She pushed Felicity down and tensed, ready to strike. A figure entered the room. There was an earsplitting noise as the intruder stepped on one of the sonic devices.

Immediately all the women in the room were up on their feet. Kate tackled him to the ground. There was a scuffle activating more of the devices.

"Let go Kane." A familiar voice shouted. Laurel flipped on the light.

"Well what do you know? It keeps out assassins and annoying ex boyfriends." Thea crossed her arms

"What?" Roy shouted. "Turn off those things."

A few minutes all the devices had been silenced. There was still a ringing in Felicity's ears.

"What were you thinking?" Felicity said smacking Roy's arm. "You could have been seriously hurt."

"There was a break in at SCPD headquarters." Roy explained. "No one was hurt, but…" He took a deep breath. "Some evidence was stolen and there's something you need to see."

* * *

In the abandoned Queen Mansion, Al Sah Him looked at the vials he'd stolen from the evidence storage facility

"What is this substance?" Serab asked.

Al Sah Him smiled as he picked up one of the vials and held it up to the light, the green liquid inside seemed to glow. "The stuff of nightmares." He said. "Prepare the others. We leave for Gotham immediately."


	15. Chapter 15

"Do we know it's him?" Thea asked when Roy finished relaying Digg's phone call.

"Palmer hacked the security footage." Roy said. "Apparently he looked directly at the camera and smiled. Palmer wiped it from the police servers. No one will be able to find it." He put his hand on Thea's shoulder, she flinched.

"Why would he?" Thea asked.

"With what he took do you really have to ask?" Laurel shuddered.

"Digg said he and Palmer are coming over as soon as they can." Roy said. "Wayne wants us to meet in the Batcave."

They all went down. Bruce, Tim, Jason, and Dick were waiting for them.

"Al Sah Him is probably headed this way." Bruce said. "Which is why we need to move Felicity to a secure location. The attack on the police station was reckless and uncharacteristic of the league."

Nyssa tensed. "You believe something has happened to my father."

Bruce nodded. "He would never have had allowed an attack like this. In addition there's this." He went over to the Bat computer and pulled up the footage Ray had sent. He pointed to Al Sah Him's hand.

"The Demon's ring." Nyssa growled. "He's now Ra's al Ghul"

"We need him to attack where we have the advantage." Bruce said. "Felicity will be taken to a safe house accompanied by one of the members of the team…NOT," He glared as Dick moved closer to Felicity, "you, Dick. He'd expect that. We'll use that to our advantage. We're sending a decoy, someone about Felicity's height and weight on the back of your motorcycle. It'll be up to you, Dick, to draw the assassins to the South docks. They're almost always empty.

Dick crossed his arms. "Jason."

"What?" Jason looked at Dick in shock.

"Jason's going to be in charge of Felicity." He looked over at her. "If that's okay with you?"

She nodded. "Can Thea come too?"

"It's fine, Liss." Thea said.

"You shouldn't have to fight your own brother." Felicity said.

"I'm not fighting my brother." Thea murmured. "I'm saving him." She had a determined look in her eyes. "I need to be there."

"If you're sure." Felicity said.

Thea nodded.

"Okay." Felicity smiled over at Jason. "So, it looks as though you and me are going to be besties…one problem." She looked around. "Who's going to be decoy me? No one here could pass as me." She looked around at the assembled women. "You're all so tall and…lethal."

"That's where I come in."

Dick's eyes grew wide as he stared behind her. Felicity turned to see a young woman grinning at them from a wheelchair.

"Babs?" Dick asked

"Hey Boy Wonder." She looked around the BatCave. "Love what you haven't done with the place."

"Are you out of your mind?" Dick growled.

"Not currently." Barbara said. Wheeling over to Felicity, she held out her hand. "We haven't officially met. Barbara Gordon, formerly Bat Girl. You're Felicity, the woman Dick's completely gaga for." She grinned. "After this you're buying me a drink so I can share all the embarrassing stories he doesn't want you to know about."

Felicity grinned and shook her hand. "Deal."

Dick looked at them and groaned. "This is going to bite me in the ass isn't it?"

Tim laughed. "You're doomed, bro."

"Barbara will be on the back of your motorcycle." Bruce continued. "We'll all leave the manor now. When we're in position, you'll leave, driving around Gotham. Pretend to be looking for a game spot. Jason." He looked over at Jason. "I'm assuming you still have some hideouts left over from when you came back from Nanda Parbat?"

Jason nodded.

"Then you'll drive her to one of them, but wait until after Dick has left."

"I'm going to call Renee and having her discreetly clear the docks." Kate said. Looking over at Laurel, Thea, and Nyssa's pajamas, she added, "are we going casual?"

"Suit up, Kate." Bruce said.

"Once again, I'm getting all dolled up with no one by criminals to appreciate me." Kate sighed. "Canary, tell me I'm pretty."

Laurel laughed and went to get her suit.

"I find you quite ravishing." Nyssa said.

"Why thank you." Kate grinned. "You play for my team, right? After this you and me are going to get to know each other better."

"Team?" Nyssa asked.

"Assassins don't play baseball, Kane." Jason said.

"Which is why she'll need a teacher." Kate retorted.

"What will Renee think?" Barbara grinned.

"She can watch and can I just say how great it is to have you back?" Kate grinned it's been rough being here alone."

Bruce cleared his throat loudly. "Might I suggest that the gossip and the flirting wait until after the crisis is handled?"

Dick pulled Jason aside.

"Jay."

"I know." He frowned. "If Felicity gets hurt you'll kick my ass."

Dick shook his head. "There's no one I trust more to handle this than you." He put his hand on Jason's shoulder and squeezed it. "Stay safe."

"You too bro." Jason said.

Dick made to turn away but grinned and said. "Oh and by the way. If anything happens to Felicity I'll kick your ass." He winked.

Jason gave him a half smile.

Dick walked over to Felicity. "Hey."

"Hey." She murmured.

"This is usually the part where the girl gives the dashing hero a goodbye kiss because she's worried she'll never see him again." Dick tilted his head.

Felicity blushed. "Be careful." She said.

"Always am." Dick said.

"Just kiss him." Barbara shouted.

"Yeah, you're annoying the bats." Tim added

Dick grinned. "Well we can't disappoint the audience." He said. Felicity looked down, embarrassed.

"Straight people." Kate rolled her eyes. "They always make things so needlessly complicated."

Jason made his way to the top of the stairs. "Come on Smoak, let's see if I can't change your mind about which bat boy you want to date."

Felicity gave Dick a kiss on the cheek then went to hug to Thea.

"Be careful."

"You too." Thea said.

Giving Roy's hand a squeeze and nodding at Nyssa and Laurel she followed Jason out of the Batcave.

"Ever seen Bruce's garage?" Jason asked. "It's a shrine to midlife crises everywhere."

Felicity shrugged.

"They'll be alright." He said. "And so will we."

"I hope so." Felicity murmured.


	16. Chapter 16

"You could have waited for us to make the plan." Dig said. He and Ray had just arrived and were in the Bat Cave.

"Explain to me why we can't join in on the fun?" Ray asked.

"Because your suit isn't exactly stealthy, Palmer." Bruce growled in his Bat voice. "You flying across the Gotham sky would give away our position."

"As if anyone would see anything with all the clouds and pollution." Ray grumbled.

"And Felicity?" Digg asked.

"On her way to a safe house." Dick said over the roar of his motorcycle. "Jason's with her. They're going radio silent until they've gotten there and created a secure connection."

"Which is where?" Digg said.

"Jason's got many old hide outs." Dick said. "It's better that less people know." He shut off the comm. "You okay Babs?"

"Your driving's still terrible." Barbara said.

"I missed you too, Bat girl." Dick muttered. Barbara was wearing a large bike helmet which completely covered her face. She'd put on a blonde wig, which was poking out from underneath it in order to disguise her as Felicity.

"Do you really think they're going to buy this?" She asked.

"We can only hope." Dick said.

"Company." She murmured. "Rooftop at 2 o'clock."

"And another at 9 o'clock under the billboard." Dick said. "They've found us. Okay, once we get to the docks –"

"Stay behind you and don't engage the assassins." Barbara's eye roll was audible. "I know."

"Good." Dick said.

"I brought my taser though. Just in case I need to save you, which will probably happen."

Dick shook his head. "Hang on."

They sped through Gotham. Renee (who'd been advised of their plan earlier) had managed to clear the police off the streets. Dick used the opportunity to drive as fast as he wanted. Leading the assassins to the docks he stopped the bike.

A group of about 40 assassins converged on his position.

"Boys, you are really going to regret gatecrashing." Dick said, taking off his helmet. "This is Nightwing, whenever the rest of you –"

The assassins dropped their weapons.

"That's….different." Dick said. The Bat Family and Team Arrow converged on the assassins.

"Drop your weapons and –" Tim paused as he caught sight of the weapons on the ground. "This is awkward."

"We know that isn't the woman Al Sah Him wants." One of the assassins pointed to Barbara. "He knew none of you would be willing to place Ms. Smoak in danger. Not after what happened to Bat Girl."

"Damn." Barbara grumbled, pulling off the helmet. "I was ready to kick some assassin butt."

"If Queen isn't here…" Dick said slowly.

"He's following your friend and plans to take her from him." the assassin said. He turned to Nyssa. "We are sworn to never raise our swords against Ra's al Ghul, but we cannot allow this usurper to continue to dishonor the league. If we tell you where he plans to take her, will you rid us of him?"

Nyssa grinned. "It will be my pleasure."

Jason looked at the backseat. "We're out of Gotham." Felicity peeked out from under the blanket where she'd been hiding.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

Jason stared ahead.

"You're not going to tell me?"

"No." Jason grinned. "I figured I'd go for the dark, mysterious look."

Felicity snorted.

"We're going to an old base of mine. Dick knows where it is. I helped him build the nightcycle there." His eyes lit up, "did Dick tell you about it? The bike, I mean."

"Not you too." Felicity laughed.

"Hey, that thing wouldn't have gotten out of the garage if it wasn't for me." Jason huffed.

Felicity raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look so shocked, Smoak. I'm good with my hands." He winked. "Anytime you want to test that out..."

"Nice try, Todd." Felicity snorted, but you might as well drop the tough guy act. You'll always be the guy who likes building bikes with his big brother to me."

Jason frowned. "Don't let it get around. It would hurt my street cred."

Felicity laughed. Watching the street lamps go by she softly said, "He cares about you a lot, you know."

Jason groaned. "I knew he told you." He growled. "He needs to learn how to shut his damn mouth."

Felicity reached forward and squeezed his shoulder and was about to say something when her phone rang.

"Speak of the devil." She said.

"That was fast." Jason remarked.

"Hey, Dick." Felicity said, putting the phone on speaker.

"Where are you guys?" Dick said. his tone was frantic, frightened.

"What's going on?" Jason asked.

"It's a trap. Al Sah Him figured out we used a decoy, he's coming after you."

Felicity looked up in time to see a shadowy figure in the middle of the road.

"LOOK OUT!" She shouted.

Jason swerved. The car skidded and flipped into a ditch on the side. Felicity felt a stab of pain on the side of her head as she hit one of the windows.

"Felicity?" Jason groaned. "You okay?"

She reached up and touched her head. Hissing in pain, she pulled her hand away; her fingers were covered in blood.

"I…my head is bleeding." She said. "I feel woozy."

"I'll get you out." Jason said, pushing open the door. There were footsteps approaching.

"It's the brother." A familiar voice said.

"Oliver." Felicity murmured.

"No it isn't." Jason said. Finally freeing himself from the front seat, he wrenched open Felicity's door. Pulling her out, he took a gun out from his belt.

"Stay back." He said, taking a shot. There was a twang of a bow string and suddenly Jason dropped his gun.

"Red Hood."

Felicity looked in the direction of Oliver's voice and saw him standing on the other side of the wrecked car. He was looking at Jason, his expression cold, detached. "I would have preferred it to be Nightwing, but we all have to live with our disappointments."

"Oliver, no." Felicity struggled to stand, but her head began spinning. Jason held her against him.

"Queen, you're making a big mistake." Jason slipped his free hand behind his back to reach for his second gun. "you see while you were busy crashing sports cars and getting kicked out of private school, I was training."

There was a low, menacing chuckle that made Felicity's blood run cold.

"Tell me, Jason. How did it feel to die?"

Jason tensed, Felicity saw a flicker of fear enter his eyes.

"Oliver." Felicity said, but he ignored her.

"Do you wake up at night and feel the icy fingers of death squeezing your heart? Do you gasp for breath, because you're frightened you won't be able to draw another one?"

"Fuck off, Queen." Jason grabbed his gun and shot. Felicity closed her eyes. Then Oliver let out that same horrifying low laugh.

"There have been some changes since I became Ra's." He explained. "Bullet proof uniforms for starters."

Jason shrugged. "I'll just aim for your head the- " He broke off and let out a low choking sound. Another assassin, that Felicity hadn't noticed, had snuck up behind him. Jason dropped his gun and clutched his neck.

"What did you do?" Felicity asked. Jason sank to his knees.

"Serab, bring her to me."

The other assassin, Serab, grabbed her and pulled her away from Jason. Serab held up a syringe, Felicity's eyes widened.

"Vertigo." She said, remembering what he'd stolen from the police evidence lock up.

So you remember it." Oliver's face was tisted into an expression of mad glee. Felicity tried to pull away from him, but he reached forward and pulled her agains him.

"Queen." Jason gasped, shivering as the first effects of the drug hit him. "She needs…medical attention."

"I'm not going to kill him." Oliver whispered into Felicity's ear. "I'm going to leave him as a warning to Grayson and a challenge to the Bat."

Jason's eyes grew wide, his face paled. He looked lost, broken.

"No." He whimpered. Felicity knew he'd succumbed to the effects of the drug.

"Hm." Oliver said. "I wonder what he's seeing?"

"Oliver." Felicity said, struggling to get to Jason, "please."

"My name." He growled. "Is Al Sah Him."

Felicity felt a wave of nausea as her eyes closed. "It's not real, Jason." She murmured as she began to black out . "It's just a hallucination."


	17. Chapter 17

Jason felt the prick of a needle in his neck. He'd been so focused on keeping Al Sah Him away from Felicity that he hadn't noticed the other assassin sneak up behind him. He dropped his gun, his head was swimming, but he fought for control. Dick trusted him with Felicity's safety. He needed to keep fighting, but he felt himself fall to his knees and Felicity was torn away from him. Felicity needed him, she'd been injured.

"Queen," He managed to say, "She needs medical attention." He was pleading with whatever humanity the assassin had left and it robbed him of his last ounce of strength.

One second Oliver and the other assassin were standing with Felicity. Then she was on the ground, dead. Bruce and Dick were standing, looking at her.

"No." He whimpered.

"I trusted you." Dick turned to look at him, fury and betrayal etched on his face. "You were supposed to keep her safe."

"I'm sorry." Jason cried.

"Sorry doesn't bring her back." Dick spat. "You're a monster, an abomination. I can't believe I ever called you my brother."

There seemed to be a voice in the back of Jason's mind, whispering that it wasn't real, that it was a hallucination. He was transfixed, looking at Felicity's lifeless corpse. There was movement above him. Bruce's face was an expressionless mask. He stared at him silently, then he turned to walk away.

"Please don't leave. Not again." Jason whimpered. Dick and Bruce ignored him. Picking up Felicity, they walked away without looking back once. Jason was left alone in the darkness. Then he heard it; the laughter.

"Come out and play, pretty bird." The voice from his nightmares taunted. "Daddy bat's not going to save you."

* * *

Dick heard the sound of the car tires squeal then the line went dead.

"I need to trace that call." He growled.

"On it." Palmer said. "She and Jason were on the I-52, heading towards Metropolis. The call ended about 50 miles outside of Gotham."

"That would be deserted at this time of night." Barbara said.

"Slight problem." Ray said. "There's an abandoned airfield not too far from where the call ended. Odds are that's where Al Sah Him's taking her. Once he has her there, there'll be no way to trace him. I'm suiting up and flying over."

Dick turned back to the assassins. "Where is he taking her/"

"He was ordered us to meet him at the Queen Mansion once we'd eliminated all of you." The nameless assassin said. "He told us to bring you to him, alive."

Dick jumped back on to his motorcycle.

"Dick, you can't drive all the way to Starling." Barbara said.

"I'm going to the Batcave to drop you off with Alfred, then I'm taking the Batplane." He growled.

By the time Dick got to the Batcave, Ray was back with Jason.

"The car was totaled . Todd was…" Ray gestured to Jason's shuddering form as he helped Dick ease Barbara back into her chair.

"He's been injected with Vertigo." Digg explained, "we gave him the antidote, but it'll take a while for him to come out of it." He paused "and the antidote won't erase the memory of the visions."

Dick walked over to the table. Jason caught sight of him and shrank back.

"I'm sorry." He said. "They took Felicity, it's…my fault."

"No" Dick murmured. "It's not your fault."

"Don't leave me here." Jason pleaded. "I can hear him, laughing. Just like before."

Dick realized that Jason was talking about Joker.

"We won't leave you, Jay." Barbara said, wheeling over and taking his hand. "I'm staying right here. Dick's going to after the monsters who did this."

Jason nodded. He looked like a frightened child. Barbara traced reassuring circles on his hand while Digg injected him with a sedative.

"He'll sleep the rest of it out." He said. "You're going to stay with him, miss…?"

"Gordon, Barbara Gordon." Barbara looked down at Jason who was fighting to stay awake. "It's okay, Jay. You're home."

"Felicity…Dick needs to know…head injury." Jason mumbled as his eyes closed.

"Head injury." Digg's eyes widened in alarm.

"That explains the blood on the back seat window." Ray muttered.

"Blo…you're only mentioning this NOW?" Dick shouted.

Digg looked at Ray. "Get your jet; we're going to Starling, now. Grayson's going to be bait to distract Oliver, Al Sah Him, whatever he's calling himself now while the rest of team Arrow goes in and grabs Felicity." He glared at Dick who'd opened his mouth to protest. "Felicity's our family. We do this our way. Once we've got her to safety…"

"I'm kicking Oliver's ass." Dick growled.

Digg frowned. "We'll see about that."

With one last look at Barbara and Jason, Dick followed Digg and Ray to Ray's jet. Kate, Nyssa, Laurel, Thea, and Roy were waiting for them.

"Bruce and Tim are staying to keep an eye on Gotham and Jason." Kate said.

"So what's the plan?" Thea asked as they boarded the plane.

"According to Todd, Felicity's got a head injury." Digg said. "Our first priority is to get her clear. Then we try to bring Oliver in."

"When you say in…" Dick said.

"Tranquilizer arrows." Roy said. "Oliver wouldn't have given up on us and we're not giving up on him."

Dick frowned, but said nothing.

"Grayson is going to be a distraction." Digg continued. "Oliver expects his assassins to bring him as a prisoner. He'll be so focused on him, we'll have him surrounded before he can put his guard up."

Kate grinned. 'You're going to be bait?" She said sweetly. Dick glared.

"I prefer the term tactical diversion." He grumbled.

"Small problem." Ray said. "How do we even get close to Queen if he's expecting a group of assassins to give him Dick." He paused. "There had to be a better way to say that."

Digg and Roy looked at each other.

"He wants assassins." Roy grinned, holding out a large duffle bag. "That's exactly what we'll give him." He opened it, revealing league uniforms.


	18. Chapter 18

Felicity's eyes blinked open. She was faint, dizzy, and as she looked around she noted that she was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. She felt a throbbing pain in her head and reached up to touch.

"The car accident." She muttered. "I hit my head." Her hand felt a crude bandage that had been haphazardly placed over her cut.

"It isn't deep." A voice said from the corner. "You'll receive treatment once we reach Nanda Parbat."

She looked over to the chair and saw Oliver, sitting in a large chair, staring at her.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" She asked. "Where am I?"

He didn't answer, but continued to look at her with interest. Felicity had the unsettling impression of a wolf watching a wounded deer.

"Oliver."

"That's not my name. My name is –"

"Al Sah Him, I know." Felcity cut him off. She didn't think she could hear him say it again. Looking at the man across from her, she realized that Bruce and Dick had been right. There was no sign of the man she'd known.

"So what do I call you now? Al? Allie?"

"Al Sah Him will suffice."

"It's a bit of a mouthful." Felicity muttered as she looked around the room. The curtains had been drawn so she couldn't see the outside. The room was large, but empty. The only pieces of furniture were the bed and the chair. Felicity felt a shudder go through her as she wondered what Oliver…Al Sah Him, had planned for her.

"There are no electronics." Al Sah Him said. "Your friends will not be able to trace you."

"They're your friends too." Felicity said. "At least some of them were. The Bat Family isn't. Dick actually kinda hates you and –"

She broke off as Al Sah Him's expression darkened.

"That's the last time you'll utter his name in my presence."

"Are you hearing yourself? Who talks like that?" Felicity glared. "Does joining the league make you talk like a Victorian Aristocrat?"

Al Sah Him laughed. Felicity shifted back, wanting to put as much distance between them as she could.

"I guess it's useless to ask where I am." She said.

"You'll know where we are when I want you to." Al Sah Him said.

Felicity got off the bed. She stayed on her side of the room, and tried to think about her options. Head injury and blood loss, she thought, not exactly the best combination to think up a Houdini style escape. Maybe if I keep him talking...

"So what's the plan? Bore me to death until the others get here and kick your ass?" She felt a momentary surge of triumph at the look of surprise Al Sah Him showed at her anger. Then he began laughing. It was cold, heartless. Felicity tried to remember if she'd known what Oliver's laugh sounded like before, and realized that she wasn't sure if she'd heard it.

"Your friends won't find you." He said. "They're all dead."

Felicity's stomach lurched and she leaned against the wall for support. "What do you mean?"

"I ordered my assassins to kill all the members of the Bat Family and Team Arrow." He said the team names in a low mocking tone. "Except for Nightwing. Him I'll kill myself."

"Thea was with them." Felicity was horrified, and collapsed on the ground. "Thea was with them, how COULD YOU?" She felt tears spill from her eyes. "You just ordered the death of your own sister." She felt two hands grip her arms.

"Get OFF me." She wrenched away from him. "Don't touch me."

He ignored her, grabbing her again and pulling her up. There was a tearing sound as her shirt ripped open. She struggled, but realized it was hopeless. She felt a wave of weakness and pain and went limp, sobbing.

"Save your tears." He growled

The door to the room opened and the other assassin walked in.

"Some of the others have returned and are at the edge of the property. They have the Nightwing with them."

Al Sah Him looked down at Felicity. "Come." He said, pulling her to the door, "and let this be a lesson to all those who dare to take what is mine." He dragged her down a large hallway into the entrance of a house. Felicity looked around and realized that she knew exactly where she was. The Queen Mansion was large, maybe there was a way for her to hide and contact Barry. Al Sah Him hauled her out the front door of the mansion.

Near the gate of the grounds were 3 hooded and masked assassins who were bringing Dick forward. Dick was in his Nightwing costume and it had been torn in multiple places. There were bruises on his face. Felicity bit her help, then she frowned. Something wasn't right. There was something familiar about the assassins and the more she watched them, the more obvious it became. She fought back an excited gasp as she realized the "assasins" were actually Kate, Roy and Laurel. She looked in panic at Al Sah Him, hoping he had made the same realization, but he was too busy focusing on Dick to realize anything was amiss. His eyes were alight with madness.

"Bring him to me." He ordered, indicating the ground below his feet. Dick let out a soft groan as they dropped him, and tried to get up, but Al Sah Him put his foot on his back and forced him down.

"We meet again, Dick Grayson." He grinned. "I'll admit I was surprised when I discovered it was you under the mantle of Nightwing. I never imagine that the same scrawny child I – "

"Do me a favor." Dick interrupted. "And kill me now so I don't have to listen to what I'm sure was a well-practiced villain speech." He lifted his head and looked over at Felicity. His eyes widened when he saw her torn clothes and bandaged head. He tried to stand again. "What  
the hell did you do to her, Queen?" He hissed as Al Sah Him pushed him down again.

"She is not your concern." Al Sah Him pulled out his sword.

"Dick." Felicity tried to move forward, but Serab held her back. Why weren't the others doing anything?

"You never did know your place, Grayson." Al Sah Him growled.

"And I suppose you're planning on putting me in it?" Dick snarked.

Al Sah Him raised his sword.

"Palmer, in case you were looking for an invitation."' Dick said. There was a blast from above and suddenly Felicity as pulled off the ground, Serab along with her.

"Sorry," Ray said, dropping Serab. "There's only room for one passenger." He flew off.

"Where are you going?" Felicity said. "We have to help them."

"You have to go to the hospital." Ray said. "The others can handle themselves."

* * *

Dick used Al Sah Him's distraction to push him off and knock him off his feet. Serab was groaning on the ground. Palmer had dropped him from pretty high up, and the assassin was in no condition to fight, which only left Al Sah Him. Dick grabbed his batons and twirled them in his hands moving menacingly towards Al Sah Him.

"I'm going to make you suffer for this, Queen."

"She's mine." Al Sah Him said as he jumped to his feet.

Roy sighed. "Don't make me do this, Oliver." He was holding up his bow and Dick could see that he'd loaded a tranquilizer arrow.

"You're not going to shoot me." Al Sah Him said. He turned behind him to where Thea, Nyssam and Digg had snuck up behind him. "None of you are going to hurt me."

"Don't be so sure." Kate pulled off her hood. "Dick and I don't care about messing up your face and Nyssa's out for blood."

Al Sah Him gave her a dismissive look. He was still holding up his sword.

"Ollie, please." Thea said. Al Sah Him twitched slightly. Turning to look at her, it looked for a moment like something had cracked in his assassin resolve. Thea smiled and held out her hand. Then he spun around and stabbed his sword in Dick's direction. Dick had been anticipating the move and blocked it with one of his batons. Kicking Al Sah Him's wrist, he managed to get him to drop the sword. Al Sah Him punched Dick in the jaw and attempted to pull out a dagger from his belt, but Dick grabbed Roy's tranquilizer arrow and stabbed him in the shoulder with it. Al Sah Him fell to his knees and passed out.

"He…I saw Ollie in his eyes." Thea said. Dick shook his head.

"He was using you and got you to lower your guard." He said, rubbing his jaw. "ooooow." He muttered.

Digg looked sadly down at Al Sah Him's motionless form, then tapped a comm in his ear. "We got him, Waller."

"Waller?" Dick hissed. "You brought ARGUS into this?"

3 black cars pulled into the property and stopped in front of the Queen Mansion. The door of the first one opened and out stepped Amanda Waller. She looked down at Al Sah Him and Serab.

"We'll have to restrain them." She said, her voice cold, toneless. "I don't want them waking up during transport." A group of agents surrounded the 2 men. Waller turned to face Kate and Dick.

"Mr. Grayson, Ms. Kane I trust I'll be meeting more of the Bat Family soon."

"Don't count on it." Kate growled. Dick echoed the sentiment. Bruce didn't agree with Waller's methods, but since she didn't interfere with Gotham, the Bat Family had never come into contact with her before.

"Where are you taking him?" Thea asked. The agents had moved away from the two assassins who were now bound with extremely impressive restraints. Thea knelt next to her brother and took off his hood.

"Mr. Queen and Mr. Yamashiro are both former ARGUS agents." Waller said. "And unintentionally they once saved my life in Hong Kong. I owe them a debt. Which is why I'm taking them to a secure ARGUS facility." She turned to Dick. "The Alpha-Omega virus?"

"Destroyed." He said, his expression unreadable.

"Ah." Waller gave him a small smile. "So Mr. Wayne has it. I suppose that will have to do for the time being." She looked down at Thea. "Say your goodbyes. It might be a while before he is fit to see you again."

Thea glared up at her. Digg put his hand on her shoulder. "Thea." He said gently. "Lyla's going to have full control of the place where they're taking him. You'll get constant updates. No one's going to hurt him." He directed the last statement at Waller, it was more warning than simple reassurance. Thea nodded weakly and gave her brother a kiss on her forehead. Standing, she moved aside and let the agents take him away. Palmer landed next to the group.

"Felicity's at Starling general in case any of you wanted to – Uff" he let out a surprised gasp as Thea threw herself into his arms. He looked down at her and then around as though confirming that everyone else was seeing the same thing. Then he awkwardly hugged her back. "This would probably work a lot better with me out of the suit." He said.

Roy's bow hand twitched, Digg caught his eye and shook his head. "Let it go man," he said.

Dick glared as the cars pulled out of the Queen property. "You could have warned us that you were involving ARGUS." He said.

"Would you have agreed to it?" Digg asked.

"No." Kate said. Dick moved away from the group.

"Where are you going?" Laurel asked.

"I'm changing, then I'm going to Starling General." He said. "Oh and Nyssa…catch." He tossed her the demon's ring which he'd taken off Al Sah Him's hand during their fight. Nyssa caught it.

"Be careful what you do with that thing." He said.


	19. Chapter 19

"Well, look at Sleeping Beauty. Maybe you should give her a kiss to wake her up."

"You aren't funny, Babs."

"Excuse you; I have it on very good authority that I am a riot."

"Who's that, Bruce? The man wouldn't know a joke if it danced around naked in front of him."

"Ew Jay, seriously?"

"Awww does wittle Timmy not wike nakey jokes?"

"Shut up Jason."

"Loosen up, bro."

"Yeah, boy wonder, you're acting like a real dick."

There was giggling. Felicity could hear the voices, but she couldn't open her eyes. "Dick." She murmured.

"Felicity?" She felt a warm hand slide into hers. Then she was weakening, falling back asleep.

"Maybe she wasn't being specific about wanting you." Jason's voice suggested. "Maybe she just wants so- "

"JASON." 3 voices that sounded like Barbara, Dick and Tim shouted.

Felicity felt a smile playing on her lips as she fell back asleep.

She didn't know how long she'd been out, but when she came to she was lying in a hospital bed. Outside the large window was the familiar gray Gotham skyline. Dick was sitting in a chair next to her, snoring softly.

"Hey roomie."

Felicity turned to see Barbara Gordon sitting up in another bed across the room. She was in Barbara's room at the assisted living facility.

"Don't worry." Barbara must have seen the look of panic on Felicity's face. "Everything is working fine. Bruce just had you transferred here for security reasons."

Felicity nodded and reached up to run her fingers over her head. There was a clean bandage there.

"You have 5 stiches." Barbara continued. "The doctor said there's no real damage apart from the blood loss."

"Are you okay with me sharing your room?" Felicity was worried that it might be insensitive to mention Barbara's memory lapses, but she didn't want to have her presence be distressing.

"I haven't had an episode in a while." Barbara waved her hand dismissively. "Don't tell Bruce, but I'm pretty sure that Nyssa slipped me some water from the Lazarus pit when she came to visit yesterday. Tim sat on my leg by accident this morning and I felt it."

Felicity grinned. "That's amazing….wait how long have I been out?"

"2 days." Barbara said.

"And when you say security reasons…" Felicity trailed off. She didn't want to mention Oliver's name, but Barbara seemed to understand her worries.

"He's in ARGUS custody. Waller said something about owing him. Bruce was just covering his bases in case he managed to escape."

"Oh." Felicity felt a twist in her gut as she remembered Al Sah Him's cold, cruel eyes and his grip on her arms.

"They're going to try to rehabilitate him." Barbara said.

Next to her, Dick's snores were getting louder. Barbara rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable." Grabbing a book from her bedside, she threw it hitting Dick in the stomach. He snorted and sat up in alarm.

"Wha…" He glared as Felicity and Barbara dissolved into giggles. "That's not funny." He rubbed his stomach and looked at them, hurt. "The two of you together is a recipe for disaster." He couldn't help but smile, "how's your head?"

"It's better." Felicity smiled. The two of them sat looking at each other.

"Oh god." Barbara said, rolling her eyes. "Just kiss each other already. Though," she wrinkled her nose, "wait until after she's been discharged to do anything else. There are some things I do not want to see."

* * *

4 Months Later

"I hope you're hungry." Dick said as he opened the door to his apartment. "Because I made dinner." He carried Felicity's suitcase inside as Felicity followed.

"You cook?"

"Of course." Dick said, offended. Felicity raised an eyebrow.

"It's pasta isn't it?"

"It's pasta." Dick admitted.

Felicity grinned. "Thanks for letting me crash here."

"No need to thank me." Dick said moving towards his bedroom to put away Felicity's suitcase. "I would be a pretty terrible boyfriend if I forced you to stay in a hotel."

"Aren't all of Bludhaven's hotels fronts for various crime organizations?" Felicity asked.

Dick raised an eyebrow. "So imagine how bad it would look if the guys at work found out I made you stay in one. They already don't believe you exist. I'm serious," he added as Felicity giggled. "It turns out saying 'I have a girlfriend in Starling' is about the same as saying I have one in Canada."

He came back and wound his arms around her waist.

"Hey" he smiled at her.

"Hey." She said sling her hands up his chest and around his neck. Tugging his head down Felicity kissed him.

. "This is definitely better in person." Dick said when he pulled back.

"You sure?" Felicity teased. "You don't prefer Skype kisses?"

Dick groaned. "Jason walked in on me about a week ago and he's never going to let me live it down." He looked hungrily down at her mouth. "I think I want more."

"I think you should feed me." Felicity said, poking him in the chest.

"Oh, believe me." Dick smirked. "That is definitely part of the plan." Felicity smacked.

"Keep starving me and you will need an imaginary girlfriend." She said.

Dick pouted but moved away. "I've got the sauce ready, but I waited for you to get here to cook the pasta. It'll take a few minutes." He began moving around the kitchen. "So what's Palmer sending you to Bludhaven for?"

"The company needs more space." Felicity said, opening Dick's wine cabinet. "The lab in Starling is getting too small so Ray bought a property in Bludhaven without consulting anyone. I'm here to check if it's a viable space and start the move." She chose a bottle of Merlot. Dick opened a drawer and pulled out the bottle opener.

"Where in Bludhaven did he buy?" he asked as he took the bottle to open it.

"An abandoned factory building about 2 blocks from the train station."

Dick fumbled and almost dropped the bottle. "Damn Palmer." He groaned.

Felicity's brow furrowed. "What?"

"A branch of the Maroni crime family moved from Gotham and rumor has it they're operating out of that building." Dick ran a hand through his hair. "You are not going down there until Nightwing investigates." He frowned. "I'll probably have to call in some back up."

"Barry?" Felicity suggested. "He's always complaining that there's not enough mob action in Central."

"That's because there's too much sunlight." Dick said. "No self-respecting mobster would be caught dead without a vitamin D deficiency." He paused, thinking. "Yeah, Allen, could be helpful and Babs too. I should probably bring Palmer along." He frowned. "That should teach him to buy a property without visiting it or consulting anyone." He shook his head.

Felicity opened the cabinet with the glasses and pouted at the wine glasses on the top shelf. Dick gently nudged her aside and reached for them. "So…" He said, putting down the glasses on the counter. "If the amazing, strong, dashing, and handsome Nightwing scares away the mean mobsters you might have to spend more time in Bludhaven."

"I think so." Felicity said. "I'm probably going to have to buy an apartment. Luckily for me my boyfriend knows all the safe neighborhoods."

Dick nodded. "True…or, there is another option." He pulled a key out of his pocket.

Felicity's eyes widened. "Are you…asking me to move in with you?" her hands reaching out for the key.

"Weeeeell." Dick pulled his hand back. "I was thinking about it, but being around you is very dangerous and I don't know if you could handle anything bad happening to me."

Felicity covered her face and pressed her head against his chest. "Dick."

"Yes, Felicity; I'm asking you to move in with me."

* * *

Thea and Ray pulled up in front of the ARGUS facility.

"You don't have to do this." Ray said. "Lyla said he wasn't 100% back. Actually not even 20%."

"Ray." Thea cut him off.

"Ray sighed. "I'm just worried that seeing him will hurt you more than it will help him."

Thea smiled at Ray's concern. "He asked for me. If it helps him even a little then it doesn't matter how much it hurts me."

She got out of the car. Ray sighed. "She always has to be the hero." He muttered as he got out of the car to follow her.

Oliver was being kept in a specialized cell is the center of the facility. Three walls were made of steel and the fourth was Plexiglas. The entire cell had an electric grid. Thea sat on a chair which was place in front of the cell. Ray stood behind her.

"Hey Ollie." Thea said softly. The man in the center of the cell at her curiously.

"The-a" he drew out her name. Thea nodded.

"How are you?" She asked.

"Bored." He said.

"Have you tried reading the books we sent you?" Thea asked. "Felicity and Laurel picked them out for you."

Oliver twitched slightly at the mention of Felicity's name. Thea bit her lip and continued. "Were all doing good. Roy got a job as a private security consultant. He lives in Bludhaven now. Digg's the head of security at Palmer Tech. You should see little Sara, she got so big. She's talking in full sentences and Laurel's still working at the DA's office. She's dating Cisco now. They're-"

"Felicity." Oliver interrupted. Thea cleared her throat. "She's doing well."

"Working." Ray added.

"Yeah, she's…working a lot." Thea agreed. Oliver's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Working." He said slowly.

"Yeah we opened up a new building with a giant lab and she's in charge so she's got her hands pretty full." Ray said.

"Where." Oliver growled.

Thea and Ray looked at each other. "What?" Thea asked.

"Where is she working?" Oliver stood and stepped close to the glass.

Thea's eyes filled with tears. "You didn't want to see me." She said. "You're using me to get information on Felicity."

Oliver's expression was cold.

"Where?" His voice was low and furious. Thea stood.

"In Star-" Ray began.

"DON'T LIE TO ME." Oliver roared.

Thea looked at him in disgust. "Bludhaven." She said, tears streaming down her face. Pulling Ray out of the room she fled as Oliver…Al Sah Him howled with rage.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, the next one will be longer I promise. I also feel that I should warn that there is a mentioned suicide attempt in this chapter.**

* * *

"And this is going to be my office." Felicity said, leading Dick to the last stop on her tour of what would be the Palmer Tech building. "Roy's going to be in charge of the entire building security. He's got some pretty great ideas and Barbara's coming in from Gotham in 2 days to help me reinforce the cyber security." She spun around. "What do you think?"

Dick went to stand in front of the windows and whistled. "Nice view." He turned to take in the rest of the office. "So you'll have the whole floor to yourself?"

"Uh huh." Felicity put her purse down and watched Dick inspecting the office space.

"And this building just so happens to be on my route," Dick added. "So expect me to show up for lunch…oh every day." He sighed dramatically and opened his arms. Felicity stepped into them.

"In uniform?" She asked. "Not your Nightwing uniform, your police uniform I mean, not that I don't like the Nightwing uniform. It's pretty amazing, but I feel like it would compromise your secret identity if you walked around Bludhaven in full costume in broad day...mm"

Dick cut her off with a kiss. "In uniform." He promised.

"I will hold you to it."

"Yes, Ma'am." Dick chuckled and went in for another kiss.

Felicity's phone rang.

"No." Dick groaned tightening his arms around her to try and stop her from reaching for her purse. Felicity wiggled out of his hold and grabbed her phone. Smiling at Dick she moved to the side and answered the phone. Her cheerful expression evaporated after a few seconds of listening to the other person. She paled, her breath coming in short gasps. Covering her mouth she turned away from him. Dick moved closer to see if he could do anything, but she held out her hand keeping him back.

"Thanks for telling me, Digg…" she hung up. Walking towards the large window she looked out. "Oliver tried to commit suicide. Thea went to visit him 2 weeks ago and he lost it. Digg said he's been spiraling and that he…" She choked slightly. "He threw himself at the electric fence in his cell. He kept doing it until…" She balled up her hands and tried to fight back more tears. "They had to knock him out."

"Do we know what set him off?" Dick murmured as he moved closer to her. This time, she didn't push him away instead she leaned against him.

"Thea wouldn't say." Felicity said. "Digg said she was pretty shook up for the last 2 weeks and that she didn't even say she'd been to see him until the…the attempt."

"I'm sorry." Dick said.

* * *

There was a beeping noise. Doctors murmured and moved around him. He kept his heart rate low so they would suspect nothing. He was patient, he waited. After a few hours it went silent. There was no one around him, but an ARGUS guard standing by the door. This was his chance: dislocating his wrist, he broke out of the restraint and grabbed the guard by the throat. Slamming his head against the side of the bed, he dropped his unconscious body on the ground. Untying the rest of his restraints, he grabbed the guard's weapon and went out into the hall. Using the guard's gun, he shot out the security cameras. Then he jumped and pushed the grate to the air-vent up. Hauling himself up, he replaced the cover and began crawling through the vents. He'd get to Bludhaven if it was the last thing he did.


	21. Chapter 21

Felicity and Barbara were sitting on the floor of the office. It was late and they were having dinner while Barbara told funny stories about the Bat Family.

"I think my favorite has to be the Riddler." Barbara said, stabbing some shrimp with her chopsticks. "He looks like a Johnny Depp character on steroids. It takes a special type of courage to prance around Gotham in a lime green and purple suit leaving clues for the best group of detectives in the world to solve." She shook her head as Felicity snorted. "I mean, does he really expect to get away with his crimes?"

"The boys must have their hands full with you back."

"More like they have nothing to do because me and Kate do all the damn work." Barbara said, mixing her noodles around with her chopsticks. "Actually… I haven't really done much field work. It's mostly been strength training. Even though I have my legs back, I still need to learn how to use them again." She tilted her head. "Wanna hack the Batcave and see how the boys are doing?"

Felicity grinned. "How about, we make it interesting?"

"I like the way you think." Barbara grinned. "If I get in first you have to tell Tim you call him baby bat."

"No." Felicity covered her face. "That would crush him." Tapping her chin, she said. "Okay, but if I get in first you have to tell Bruce you call him daddy bat."

"I call him that to his face." Barbara said.

"Alright, then if I win you have to –"

There was a noise from the hall outside the office.

"What was that?" Felicity asked.

"Probably Roy." Barbara suggested. "Or maybe Dick is trying to scare us. What time did you say he got off from work?"

"He went straight on patrol." Felicity said. "And Roy should be leaving to join him."

They looked at each other, then jumped to their feet.

"Dick's been teaching you some self-defense, right?" Barbara asked. Felicity nodded. "Okay, stay behind me." Barbara opened the office door and they both took a step into the hall. The light was flickering, casting spooky shadows on the partially renovated walls.

"This is the beginning of a horror movie." Barbara muttered.

"What do you care? The feisty red head always survives at least the first half." Felicity whispered.

"Hon, you're not actually blonde." Barbara said. "Call Dick." Felicity had just grabbed her phone when there was the twang of a bow string and the hall light went out. Barbara grabbed Felicity and pulled her to the ground when a second shot went out. Barbara hissed in pain.

"You okay?" Felicity asked.

"Shoulder." Barbara gasped.

A large dark shape began advancing towards them in the dark.

"Move away from her." Al Sah Him's voice rang out from the dark.

"Oliver, she needs help." Felicity put herself in front of Barbara, shielding her.

"Move," Al Sah Him, growled standing in front of them. "Or I'll kill her."

Felicity stood slowly, he watched her, smiling cruelly. Barbara used the distraction to pull the arrow out of her shoulder and stab him in the leg. He kicked out, catching her in the chest.

"Felicity, run." Barbara coughed. Al Sah him, grabbed her by the hair and pulled out his sword. Pressing it to her neck, he looked back at Felicity. The light from the office showed her that the sword was dripping with blood.

"It belongs to the Harper boy." Al Sah Him answered Felicity's unspoken question. "And unless you want her blood to join it, I suggest you do as I say."

Felicity nodded numbly. "Just let her go. I'll do whatever you want."

Al Sah Him's face twisted into a horrid smile of triumph as he tossed Barbara to the ground. "Such sentimentality." He remarked as he stepped closer to Felicity. "It is your weakness, but," he gripped her chin and forced her to look him in the eye, "it is also what makes you so…desirable."

"ergh." Barbara groaned. Al Sah Him kicked her in the stomach.

"You promised." Felicity said.

"True." He said, stepping over Barbara. "Now," he grabbed Felicity's arm and pulled her back into the office. "Let's see where you've been…working." He spat the last word bitterly.

"What?" Felicity said as the door shut and locked behind them. Al Sah Him looked around in contempt.

"This is the best the circus freak can offer you?" He sneered. "At my side you will be the bride of the demon."

Felicity shuddered and pulled her arm out of his grasp. He looked at her in surprise, then caught sight of the cellphone.

"None of that." He ripped it away from her and dropped it to the ground, crushing it with his heel. Felicity decided to play along with his delusion. It might buy some time for Barbara to contact Dick.

"Wouldn't want anyone to interrupt us…right?" she smiled, hoping it didn't look as forced as it felt. Al Sah Him frowned. Stepping close, he examined her. Felicity couldn't stop her slight shiver of disgust.

"You're waiting for him, aren't you?" Al Sah Him hissed.

"No." Felicity said, her voice going up half an octave. "I…only want…you."

"You're lying." His voice dropped to a low whisper. He moved forward, grabbing her arms and pushing her back against the window. "What is it about Richard Grayson that makes you want him so desperately? Is it pity, because of his parents? You always did like a sob story; a broken man that you thought you could fix." His face was getting closer to hers. "Is it boredom? Is he a substitute because you couldn't have me?"

"Stop." Felicity said.

"Do you think about me when you're with him?" Al Sah Him asked. "You spent all that time pining for me so you found another broken orphan in a mask to compensate."

Felicity kicked him in the injured leg. He dropped one of the arms and she tore the other one free, bolting for the door.

"Not so fast." He grabbed her around the waist. Picking her up, he tossed her to the ground.

"You're sick." She hissed, as he stood over her. "Did you even try to get better when you were in ARGUS? Or did you just sit around plotting ways to kidnap me and get revenge on Dick?"

"You're mine." He said.

"I don't belong to you or anyone." Felicity retorted. "I'm with Dick because I choose to be."

Al Sah Him knelt down, scrutinizing her face. "It's love isn't it? You love him." He laughed. "Poor little Felicity Smoak. So afraid that the people around her will leave, has fallen in love." He reached out to touch her cheek, Felicity pulled away from the touch and slapped his hand away. "He'll leave you, Felicity. You know he will."

"You don't know that." Felicity's voice wavered.

"He will." Al Sah Him said. "But I'm offering you immortality."

"I'd rather spend a lifetime alone, then an eternity chained to you." Felicity spat.

She noted with satisfaction that her words had some impact. Al Sah Him's eyes widened, then his expression hardened, grew distant.

"So be it." He said, flat unemotional. Dragging her up, he shoved her back. There was a shattering noise. Felicity blinked in confusion as Al Sah Him seemed to be shrinking, moving higher and higher. Then she realized it was because she was falling. Gripping around her she caught only empty air. A scream tore out of her throat as she plummeted towards the ground.


	22. Chapter 22

Dick drove the Nightcycle towards the new Palmer Tech building. Roy was late, which was unlike him, so Dick decided to take it as an excuse to drop in on Felicity. She and Barbara were putting in a late night and it would probably be in his best interest to gate crash. There was no telling what Barbara was saying to her.

"Robin to Nightwing. What's your position?" Tim's voice came over the com.

"Robin, what are you doing here?"

"Answer the damn question, Grayson." Jason's voice growled. "More specifically how far are you from Felicity?"

Dick tensed and sped up.

"What's happening?"

"Waller just told Big Bat that his supreme evilness escaped from ARGUS about 4 days ago." Tim said. "We flew over on the Batplane as soon as we heard."

"FUCK!" Dick growled. "She waited 4 days to…never mind. Felicity's at the new lab. Get there, NOW!"

Jason and Tim got there first. By the time Dick turned the corner on the block where the lab was, he could see that the Bat Plane had landed on the roof and Tim and Jason were in front of the building supporting a very bloody Roy. Dick stopped, looking at the scene in horror.

"What…What happened?"

"He's unconscious, but…Queen chopped his arm off." Jason said.

"So he's in the building." Dick was about to kick the bike back into gear to come close to the building when there was a sound of shattering glass followed by a horrifying scream. Looking up, he saw Felicity falling. Moving his bike forward, he jumped on the seat and grabbed a grapple from his belt. Shooting it so it attached to a nearby building, he swung, reaching out his arm towards her. Time seemed to pass in slow motion. For one heart stopping second it seemed he wouldn't reach her, that he was too high. But then he caught hold of her arm and pulled her up, tucking her against his chest.

"I got you." He said, letting go of the grapple line and landing on the seat of the Nightcycle. Sitting down, he slammed on the brakes. Letting out a breath, he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he frantically looked her over for any sign of injury. There were small cuts and scratches on her arms and legs from the glass, but she seemed otherwise unhurt. "Are you okay?"

She grabbed his hands, squeezing her eyes shut. Her breath came out in gasps.

"You're safe." Dick hugged her, pressing his face on top of her head. "I got you. I'll always catch you." He looked up at the office where Al Sah Him watched them.

"Barbara's still in there." Felicity murmured. Dick stood slowly and brought her over to where Tim and Jason were standing with Roy.

"Felicity, I need you to stay here. Roy's been hurt and he needs someone to be with him until the ambulance arrives. Tim, you watch them. Jason, Barbara's in there I need you to go find her and bring her out." Jason rushed into the building.

Felicity grabbed his hand. "Be careful."

Dick nodded. Shooting a grapple line, he scaled the side of the building, and kicked his way through the partially shattered window. Al Sah Him was still there, staring at the door.

"Turn around Queen, so I can punch you in that stupid trust fund brat face of yours." Dick growled.

"So she survived." He said, tonelessly.

"Don't act like you care." Dick growled. "Turn around and face me, or are you only brave enough to push women out of windows?"

Al Sah Him chuckled. "You sound very confident."

"I've got a pretty good motivation to win." Dick said, "which is more than I can say for you."

Al Sah Him spun around and struck out with his sword. Dick blocked it with one of his batons. The assassin then took a swing at Dick's abdomen, Dick jumped back.

"Sloppy." Dick said. "If you were the best the league had to offer then I'm really concerned." He dodged another strike, "then again you weren't the best." He landed a blow on the assassin's forearm. "Which is why the league turned on you and hung you out to dry." Crouching down, he kicked out sweeping Al Sah Him's legs out from under him. He went down hard. Standing, Dick kicked the sword out of assassin's hand. Al Sah Him rolled away and scrambled to his feet. Grabbing a dagger from his belt, he looked back at Dick.

"Good, I don't want this to be too easy." Dick growled.

"Want to kill me? Clown boy."

Dick gritted his teeth. "For the last time, Queen: I wasn't a clown." He jumped, kicking the dagger out of Al Sah Him's hand. Landing, he flipped, fastening his legs around Al Sah Him's neck and used his momentum to flip the assassin over onto his back. Dick jumped back to his feet. "I was an acrobat." He kicked him in the balls. "And trust me, Felicity appreciates the flexibility."

Al Sah Him lunged for Dick again, but Dick effortlessly evaded him. Gripping the front of his uniform, Dick dragged Al Sah Him up. Pulling back his fist, he said. "This is for Barbara." He punched the assassin in the stomach. "This is for Jason." He pulled his fist back and punched him in jaw. "And this," he said, pulling his fist back again. "This is for Felicity." He felt Al Sah Him's nose crack when his fist connected with his face and the assassin was knocked out cold. Dick dropped him. Outside he could hear sirens.

"Jason." He said, turning on his com. "Did you find Babs?"

"Yeah, she was grievously injured."

"Bullshit, I've had worse." Barbara's voice said from behind him.

"Shut up Barb, you're an invalid, which means I will be giving you lots of sponge baths." Jason retorted, "Also Waller's here and she's coming your way."

Dick crossed his arms and waited. About a minute later Waller opened the door to the office.

"Explain to me why I should trust you to keep him locked up?" Dick said.

"His escape was a regrettable accident –"

"ACCIDENT?" Dick pointed to the shattered glass. "He broke out on your watch. He threw Felicity out a window and the best you can say is that it was a regrettable accident?"

"We-"

"You screwed up, big time."

"We have a more secure facility where we can take him." Waller said. "He won't escape again."

"Don't take it personally, but I don't trust you." Dick growled.

Waller sighed and handed him a tablet. "These are the schematics of the prison along with more details about its surroundings." She crossed her arms. "Does this meet with your approval?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Dick raised an eyebrow at her pretentious tone and glared at the tablet in front of him. He'd been prepared to find fault with Waller's suggestion, but the more he looked at the facility the more he realized that it was the perfect place for Queen.

"We could always send him to Arkham." Waller continued, dryly. "I suspect they'll hold him for about a week."

Dick handed back the tablet. Grabbing Al Sah Him, he pulled him up and handed him to the two agents who were waiting in the hall outside the office.

"If he ever comes near Felicity or anyone else in Bat Family or Team Arrow, I'm holding you personally responsible." He growled "Now get out of my city."

* * *

As soon as the police arrived, Jason and Tim disappeared. Jason went back up to the Bat Plane while Tim grabbed the Nightcycle. The EMTs took Roy away putting him on a stretcher and sped away. A second ambulance had arrived and was currently loading Barbara on to it. Felicity was left alone.

"Ms."

She turned to see two police officers coming over to her. "I'm detective Clarence, this is detective Mort. We have some questions for you."

Just then Amanda Waller and a group of ARGUS agents came out of the building. The agents were supporting an unconscious man with a bag over his head. Felicity looked up to see Dick slip out of the office and climb up to the roof. Giving her a wink, he disappeared.

"Excuse me, Ma'am." Detective Clarence walked over to Waller.

"This is a federal matter." Waller said, flashing an ARGUS badge. "This man is part of an ARGUS investigation and we are removing him into our custody." She turned and left. The detectives looked at each other, then turned to Felicity.

"Let's start from the beginning." Detective Mort said. "Who was that man and what did he want with you?"

"Um." Felicity took an unconscious step back. These detectives were making her uneasy. "I – "

"Felicity." Dick was running towards them. He'd changed into civilian clothes and looked out of breath. "Thank god." He rushed over to her and pulled her into his arms. "I came as fast as I could, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Grayson, what the hell are you doing?" Detective Mort asked.

"You're off duty." Detective Clarence agreed. "There's absolutely no reason for you to be here unless you want to direct traffic."

"Felicity's my girlfriend." Dick said. Felicity nodded the slight smug inflection in his tone as the men in front of them looked at him in shock. "I heard what was happening on the police scanner and I came as fast as I could." He looked at Felicity. "Are you hurt?"

"No." Felicity said, gratefully collapsing against him. "Just shaken up."

"Your girlfriend was just thrown out of a window." Detective Clarence said. "Maybe if you were more careful the vigilante wouldn't have to save her."

"Yeah, Dick." Mort agreed, putting a mocking emphasis on Dick's name.

Dick tensed slightly. Felicity was tired and all she wanted was to go home. She did not want to deal with 2 clearly egomaniacal detectives trying to assert their dominance over Dick.

"Your names are Clarence and Mort right? Hi," She plastered a fake smile on her face. "My name is Felicity Smoak. I'm the vice president of Palmer Technologies. We own that building and I'm sure that your superiors would be very upset to learn that we decided against creating a major secondary lab here because of the incompetence of your department's investigators. I'm not sure I feel safe in a city where a madman with swords is capable of running into a random building and attacking people and the best the detectives can do is insult a fellow officer."

The detectives paled. Felicity felt a small sense of satisfaction.

"Did you get a good look at the vigilante, Ma'am?" Clarence asked. Felicity shook her head.

"No." She said. "But whoever he is, he saved my life." She knew the BPD weren't exactly welcoming towards Nightwing because a large portion of them were corrupt. She gave the detectives another poison sweet smile as if daring them to disagree with her. "He's a hero."

"I think we have enough, right Clarence?" Mort asked, nervously. "Seeing as this is a federal case, we have nothing further to investigate."

"Right, um…good night Ms. Smoak. See you at the office, Grayson." They turned and left.

"You are definitely the badass of this relationship." Dick said, kissing her forehead. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"We should go to the hospital and –"

"Tim and Jason are already there. Barbara's grousing, but she's going to be fine. They'll give us updates on Roy as soon as they have them." Dick said. "Right now, you've been through a horrifying experience and you need rest." He began tugging her away from the building.

Felicity closed her eyes, "Al Sah Him?" She asked quietly.

"ARGUS has him." Dick said. "And this time he's going away for good."

* * *

Al Sah Him blinked. He was in a new cell. This one was smaller than the first one he'd been in. Sitting up, he put a hand to his face. The Grayson boy had broken his nose. He was probably with Felicity now. The thought made Al Sah Him's blood boil. He'd get out of here again and –

"You're awake, kid." The voice was soft. Al Sah Him froze. He knew that voice, turning he looked across from his cell. Sitting against the wall in a cage identical to his was Slade Wilson. "Miss me?"

Al Sah Him's eyes widened. "Where am I?"

Slade leaned forward. "Where do you think?" He asked. He chuckled. "You know, when Waller came in here with you and explained what had happened I couldn't believe my ears. Out of all the horrible tortures I had imagine for you I could never have dreamed up something like this." He laughed cruelly. "It turns out I didn't need to destroy you, kid; you did it to yourself." He stood and moved forward to the front of his cell. "Thank you, Oliver." He smiled. "Thank you for giving me my revenge."


	23. Chapter 23

Felicity woke the next morning to Dick pressing kisses down her back.

"Mmm." She groaned, opening her eyes and squinting at him.

"Sorry." He said, though his smug expression indicated the opposite. "I just needed to make sure you were real."

"You already did that." Felicity said tugging down the t shirt she was sleeping in. Rolling over and pressing her back against his chest. "3," she yawned, "3 times, I think."

"4." Dick corrected tracing circles on her back. "You have no idea how scared I was when I saw that window break."

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Try falling out of it."

Dick stilled his fingers. "Touché." He said.

"Hmm." She pulled his arm around her. "Any news on Roy?"

"Jason says they weren't able to save the arm. He's stable, but they're talking about prosthetics."

Felicity closed her eyes. "Damn."

"Palmer and Cisco are coming in later to examine him." Dick continued, "they're building it themselves and need measurements."

"Sounds good." Felicity mumbled. Then Dick's words registered. "Wait, WHAT?" She sat up and looked at him in horror.

"Awake?" Dick grinned.

"Those two are banned from unsupervised playdates." Felicity closed her eyes. "I have to call Laurel."

"Already done." Dick said. "She's watching them, relax." He tugged her back down. She settled against him, ready to go back to sleep. She was almost there when Dick's voice interrupted her haze.

"Can I ask…what happened?" He said quietly. "When you were alone in the office with…him. Why did he push you?" Felicity froze.

"You had a nightmare," Dick explained, "when I left to talk to Jason. I came back and you were shaking, sweating. I couldn't wake you up and you didn't calm down for about 5 minutes."

Felicity looked at Dick's worried expression. He seemed to take her silence as a decision to not share. "He can't hurt you anymore." Dick continued. "So whenever you want to talk about it…"

Felicity pulled away, sitting up. Picking at the blanket, she took a steadying breath. "He…said a bunch of pretty messed up things about you, us and…and me." She could hear the echo of his taunts in her head. **_"He'll leave you, Felicity. You know he will."_** She shivered. "He wanted me to leave with him. He said he'd make me the bride of the demon. I tried to play along at first, but…he saw right through me."

"Is that why he pushed you?" Dick asked. Felicity shook her head.

"He got mad first." She murmured. "He couldn't understand why I would choose you over him." **_"You spent all that time pining for me so you found another broken orphan in a mask to compensate."_** "I…I think he thought the only reason I didn't want him was because of you. He started saying all these…disgusting things" **_"You always did like a sob story; a broken man that you thought you could fix….Do you think about me when you're with him?"_** "Then he…he said you'd leave. He said you'd go and I'd be alone, but that he was offering me immortality. I told him I'd rather spend the rest of my life alone, than be forced to be with him forever."

The corner of Dick's mouth quirked, "that's my girl."

Felicity felt a rush of encouragement, which of course meant the gates of babble were opened. "That's when he realized I was serious. He knew I was afraid of the people I love leaving, but even when he tried to taunt me with the idea of losing you, I still rejected him. He realized that even though I love you, I wasn't going to let my fear of you leaving make me run away and…" she broke off. Dick was gaping at her.

"Can you…repeat that, please?" He said.

Felicity frowned. "…that I'd rather spend the rest of my life…"

"Not that." Dick said, "the other thing."

Felicity frowned and replayed what she'd said in her mind. Then covered her mouth when she realized what she'd just admitted. "Um…"

Dick looked at her, amused. "Come on." He said, moving closer and putting his arm around her shoulders. "Say it again."

Felicity pulled the blanket over her head. "Nu uh."

"Felicity." Dick chuckled, peeking underneath the blanket. "Would you feel better if I said I love you too?"

"You do?" Felicity poked her head out of the blanket.

"Yes, you stubborn woman." Dick rolled his eyes, tugging away the blanket. "Now, what," he pulled her closer. "Is it going to take…" he pulled up her t shirt, "for you to say it again?"

"I love you." Felicity said.

"Nope." Dick said. "Not good enough." He grinned, "I think I want to hear you scream it."

* * *

 **"** This suit –"

"Tux." Dick and Felicity cut across Jason's complaint. Jason rolled his eyes.

"I hate these stupid parties." He grumbled.

"We know." Dick and Felicity said. Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, this weird brain synch thing you have going on is creepy."

"Come on Jason," Felicity grinned. "The gala's not all bad. There's dancing and tasty finger food." As if on cue, Dick grabbed an au d'oeuvre from a passing waiter and held it out for Felicity. Jason retched as he fed it to her.

"The two of you are disgusting."

"They're just happy, Todd." Kate said as she walked over. "Let them enjoy whatever time we have left before…" she paused. "Killer Croc comes to disturb the peace."

"Mr. Freeze." Tim said, joining them.

Jason shook his head. "Ivy."

"I'm betting Penguin." Dick said.

"I'm surprised you lifted your head out of your love bubble long enough to listen to what we were talking about." Kate mocked. "How about we say…everyone puts in 100?" The boys nodded. "Babs? You want in?" Barbara had just walked over.

"No, I don't feel like losing money tonight." Barbara said.

"Felicity?" Jason asked. "Your thoughts?"

"She's standing by her man." Dick retorted. Felicity looked away and took a sip of her champagne. "Right…babe?" Dick looked at her uncertainly.

"Mmm? Oh yeah…sure." Felicity said. Looking over at Kate she mouthed: 'I'm with you'.

"Smart woman." Kate grinned. Dick pouted and was about to respond when he caught sight of someone behind Kate.

"Vale alert."

"Richard. Daaaaarling." Vicki Vale held out her hand. "You're back in Gotham."

"Really?" Dick ignored her outstretched hand and looked around in alarm. "I thought this was Metropolis."

Vicki let out a high pitched laugh as everyone around rolled their eyes at Dick's terrible joke. "And who," Vicki smiled at Felicity, "is this?"

"As if you don't know." Jason muttered into his glass. Barbara poked him hard in the ribs. He coughed and rubbed his ribs, glaring at her.

"Felicity Smoak." Felicity held out her hand.

"She's vice president of Palmer Technologies." Dick said proudly. "She runs the new lab in Bludhaven."

"Are you dating the competition?" Vicki gasped.

"As if you didn't already know." Jason grumbled. "Ow, Babs stop it."

"I'm not affiliated with Wayne Enterprises." Dick said. "I'm just a cop who's lucky," he looked down at Felicity, grinning, "that this amazing woman chose to love me."

"Urgh." Kate rolled her eyes.

"Gross." Jason shuddered.

"I think it's sweet." Tim said. Barbara smiled.

"Awww Timmy, never change."

"You're a detective now." Felicity corrected as she blushed. "Don't sell yourself short."

"That's right." Dick looked at Kate. "Where's Montoya? I want to brag."

"Have any of you seen Bruce?" Vicki clearly did not like the shift in the conversation. "He promised me a dance." Vicki looked pointedly at Jason, who paled.

Turning to Barbara he said. "Barbara, didn't you also promise me a dance?"

"No." Barbara took a sip of her glass, amused. "I think I want to see how this plays out."

"Barb." Jason hissed.

"Of course I did." She rolled her eyes. "I must have forgot, silly me and my lady brain."

Jason gulped as she grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the dance floor.

Kate looked over Vicki. "I don't know where Bruce is, but my dance card is wide open." She wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

Muttering an excuse under her breath Vicki left to talk to a group of donors.

"Uh, rude." Kate put a hand on her hip and tossed her hair. "You're welcome." She added to the others as they laughed.

"What would we do without you, Kane?" Dick said.

"You'd probably lose less money on gambling."

"Hey, don't count your killer crocodiles before they rob the gala." Dick said.

"I could say the same about penguins." Kate snorted.

They all settled in to watch Jason wince repeatedly as Barbara deliberately stepped on his toes. Then Ray and Thea walked in.

Dick and Felicity waved at the two.

"Aaaaaand the Vale has been deployed." Kate snorted as the reporter practically sprinted towards the couple. "Tim, your turn to be a hero."

Dick wound his arms around Felicity. "How about a dance?" he asked.

"Sorry, can't dance." Felicity chuckled. "I'm too busy standing by my man."

Dick dropped his head on her shoulder. "I'm going to pay for that one aren't I?"

"Uh huh." Felicity tugged him towards the floor. Taping Jason on the shoulder, she said. "I came to save you."

"Oh, thank god." Jason let go of Barbara and turned to her. "I don't know how much longer my toes could take…" he trailed off as Felicity stepped past him to dance with Barbara. "What?,,, Actually, this works better." He grinned. Dick shook his head and pulled him away.

"Stop ogling my girlfriend."

There was a crash and the ballroom door splintered open.

"I…think you might have bigger issues than your jealous boyfriend routine." Jason said. "Like; how the hell are we going to get out of paying Kate."

Killer Croc was standing in the ruins of the door. Dick groaned. "Why is she always right?"

Felicity was moving towards the exits. Dick grabbed her arm. "Nope," He said "Evil lair of darkness, now."

"Don't you think people will ask questions?" Felicity asked.

"I think that I work better with you in my ear." Dick leaned down to kiss her.

"Guys," Tim shouted. "We have a crisis here. Croc brought friends."

Poison Ivy, Penguin and Mr. Freeze had followed Killer Croc into the room. Felicity slipped into Bruce's office to go down into the Bat Cave, while Dick went with Jason, Kate and Barbara into the side room where they'd hidden their costumes. Tim was on crowd duty with Ray and Thea. Jason and Kate were bickering. "All I'm saying is Croc walked in first." Kate hissed as she pulled on her mask.

"I owe you nothing." Jason said. "Now call your girlfriend and tell her to rally the troops so we can arrest these bad guys."

"I've already contacted Renee." Felicity's voice broke over the coms. "Also Daddy bat's already out there…so maybe, do some heroing?"

Dick pulled the mask down over his eyes. "You heard the lady."

"Whipped much?" Jason asked as they rushed back to the ballroom.

"Nope." Dick grinned. "I just stand by my woman."


End file.
